Magister RanMagi
by Watchtower14
Summary: Hilarity ensues as the NWC and Mahora Class 3-A collide! How does it begin? How do they encounter? What will happen when they do? Read to find out, dear reader!
1. Chapter 1

**Obligatory Disclaimer: Rumiko Takahashi owns _Ranma 1/2_. Ken Akamatsu owns _Mahou Sensei Negima!_. I own absolutely nothing, except possibly this fic.**

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**Episode 1: Interlude**

"You wanted to see me, sir?"

"Ah yes, Negi-kun! Come in and have a seat!"

Closing the door behind him, Negi walked up to the Dean's desk and sat in the available chair. He did his best to fake a smile. Sure, Negi enjoyed talking to Dean Konoe, but he was still in a state of worry. For the Dean to have called for him so immediately implied an emergency.

"So, Negi-kun, " the Dean began, "how has everything been?"

Negi returned with a smile of confidence. "Everything's been going great, sir. Chao-san's sudden departure has left a permanent mark on the class, but that hasn't stopped them from enjoying the summer vacation."

"Excellent, Negi-kun! And tell me, how have plans been for this trip of yours?"

"Preparations are actually ahead of schedule, sir. The flight isn't scehduled for more than a week, so I've just been doing some extra training with Evangeline-san."

"So you have spare time on your hands?" As Dean Konoe said this, his smile shifted into a more serious frown. "Good, because I need to ask a favor from you."

Negi's smile also quickly faded. "I remember that you needed me for an emergency. What do you need me to do?"

Dean Konoe closed his eyes, taking an easy breath in before opening them. "Before I begin, answer me this: Have you been watching the news lately?"

Negi quickly began to scratch the back of his head with nervousness. "Uh, no, sir, I haven't. I've been trying to watch the news more in order to be more responsible, but too much is happening right now. Sorry."

"No problem, Negi-kun. Perfectly understandable." The Dean moved the computer screen in front of him towards Negi. "Thankfully, this video report has received enough notice that people are posting it on several websites."

Negi looked at the screen, which was paused to show a neat, brown-haired anchorman getting ready for the next report. But what caught Negi's eye was the report's title below:

**Magic Sightings Reported in Chinese Mountains**

As Dean Konoe pushed the play button, Negi took a gulp of air. He wasn't gonna like this.

The screen cut to shakey grainy camera footage of a rural mountainous area. Screams could be heard from behind as lights flashed across the sky. From the distance, several figures could be made out in the lights and explosions. One seemed to be levitating in the sky, another seemed to be flying towards the first, and the rest seemed to be watching from the ground. However, the camera was too blurry and too far away to make any details out. As the video progressed, the anchorman's voice commentated.

"This footage is one of many videos taken by Chinese farmers in the Chinese mountain range. These videos, which have been labelled as the 'Magic Battle' series, were posted in swarm over a length of several days last week, and have since gained a lot of notice from Internet users worldwide."

The screen then cut to a clearer view of the mountains, with dozens of springs in the background. Two people stood in front, facing the screen. The one on the left was a woman with short black hair and short glasses, dressed in a business suit. The one on the right was a man who was dressed in what looked like a Chinese soldier's uniform. He had a very stereotypical-Chinese face, and even though he wore a hat, he was clearly bald.

The anchorman's voice started up again. "For more info, we go live to reporter Rumiko Akamatsu in Jusenkyo, the Chinese mountain village where this whole incident seemed to have taken place. Rumiko?"

The woman on the left smiled. "Thank you, Mizuki. I am here with one of the local tour guides in the area, who claims to have been an eyewitness to the events shown in these videos. He has asked that his name remain anonymous, so he will be labelled as "Jusenkyo Guide" to our viewers at home." She then turned over to the man on the right and held her microphone out. "Thanks for joining us."

The man closed his eyes and smiled back. "It no problem miss." His voice had a very thick accent to it.

"So, mister, you say that you saw this incident first-hand. Would you like to tell us what happened?"

"Oh, it very easy to explain. Phoenix Tribe king Saffron try to turn into adult by rerouting Jusenkyo spring water. Several Japanese martial artists get very upset because Saffron try draining springs. so they come and fight him. Big fight happen, but no need worry. Everything okay now."

The smile the Guide returned caused Rumiko to stumble on her words. "Uh...okay, then. So, you said that martial artists didn't want the springs drained, correct? Why is that?"

"Oh, they need cure for curses."

"Curses?"

"Oh yes. Hundreds of springs in Jusenkyo, and I know very tragic backstory of all of them. People and animal and thing drown in springs thousands of year ago. Now, whoever go in spring turn into what last drowned."

"Really now. So, you're saying that this whole incident was over a magical cure?"

"Yes miss."

Rumiko then turned back to the screen. "Well, you've heard it here, folks. A live eyewitness to a magical event. This is Rumiko Akamatsu, for Channel 5 news."

The screen then cut back to the anchorman. "Thanks, Rumiko. Coming up after the break: An attempted bank robbery results in a chase that can only be described as 'something straight out of an action movie'. Stay tuned."

With that note, the video timed out. Dean Konoe turned the screen back to him, and got a look at Negi's flabbergasted face.

"Is-Is any of this true, Dean-san?"

Dean Konoe sighed. "I have done some research, and unfortunately, this man's statements have truth to them. Both the Phoenix Tribe and the Jusenkyo Springs are listed in our records. In fact, the Jusenkyo Springs are said to have a magic potential that rivals the World Tree. It's a good thing that the Guide has not provided any actual evidence of magic. Hopefully, these reports will be treated like a UFO sighting and will fade as soon as the excitement passes."

Dean Konoe paused to take in a breath. "Regardless, this behavior is unacceptable. This man has knowledge of magic but seems to be unaware of our attempts at secrecy. And he mentioned martial artists who are most likely as oblivious as he is. However, they may be more...demonstrative of this magic. I cannot say for certain, but this is a risk I cannot ignore.

"The Guide did not give any specifics of these martial artists, but he most likely knows who they are. Negi-kun, your task is to head to China and find out who these martial artists are. If you can find their identities, locate them and ensure that the secrecy of magic does not spread. Report back to me once your investigation is finished. Is that understood?"

"I understand, sir, but why me?"

"My son is still busy trying to return the Kansai Magic Association to full power, and Takahata-san is currently away on assignment. Basically, you're the only one I can rely on right now, Negi-kun. So, do you accept?"

"I would, sir, but this trip is too close, and this assignment will take too much time. I don't want to cancel this trip that Asuna-san and the other girls have tried so hard to set up."

"Well, it won't take long if you use your staff." Before Negi could speak further, Dean Konoe leaned forward on his desk. "Negi-kun, the magic community has remained hidden from society for hundreds of years. This incident could jeopardize that effort. It would be best to have this done as soon as possible. So long as you promise to keep your true identity a secret, I will be willing to...overlook your methods." He then gave a comforting smile. "So I repeat, Negi-kun: Do you accept?"

Negi took a couple of minutes to ponder the decision. After a while, he stood up, smiled, and bowed to the Dean.

"Yes sir. I accept."

He turned around and quickly made his way out the door.

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**Well, that marks the first chapter of not only my first fic on here, but my first fic ever made. Give it a read; hopefully, this is better than expected.**

**I've had this crossover in mind for a while, but I'd still like to thank the Fanfic 101 game on TV Tropes for giving me the flimsy excuse I needed to make me finally do this.**

**Regarding the title, credit goes to Shadow Crystal Mage for coming up with a neat one. I _would've_ used something like _Mahou Sensei Nerima_, but I don't want it to be confused with the fic _Nerima_ by Japanese Teeth. Check both their work out; they're really good.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Obligatory Disclaimer: Tried to bet against Rumiko Takahashi and Ken Akamatsu to get the rights for ****_Mahou Sensei Negima!_**** and ****_Ranma 1/2_****. I lost miserably, but at least I managed to get this fic out of it. But I can always try again. Besides, next week's Bingo night.**

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**Episode 2: When Worlds Collide**

It was a peaceful day in the town of Nerima. The sun shined in the cloudless sky. There was a steady breeze that kept one from getting overheated under the summer sun. If one listened, one could hear the sounds of water dripping, birds chirping, and trees swaying. In any normal town, this weather would make this a perfect day. But Nerima is not what most people would call "normal". To the residents long aware of the town's "status quo", such a quiet day was a _godsend_. One could get his work done uninterrupted by the usual noise and take advantage of the peace to relax. Because of this, no one noticed the young boy in a white robe on top of a wooden staff plummeting his way down into a nearby alley.

Negi quickly cast a spell, slowing his descent until he was hovering several inches from the ground. Negi got off his staff and used another spell to have it cling to his back. Checking to make sure that no one saw him, the boy speed-walked his way towards the marketplace. Covering his face with his hood, he checked to see if anyone was taking a particular interest to him. To his surprise, he was able to walk through the street completely unnoticed.

Negi sighed with relief before chuckling to himself. Haruna was the one who came up with this idea of using a hood to "blend in" with the environment. Negi thought it was ridiculous, believing that he would be more noticeable because of it, but he figured he'd give it a shot anyway, if only to keep Haruna off his back. He never expected it to actually work.

About twenty minutes later, Negi arrived at a large traditionally house surrounded by a tall stone wall. The entrance gate consisted of two large wooden doors, and there was a sign on the side with the words "**Tendo Dojo of Anything Goes Martial Arts**" written in bold kanji. Confirming the location on a piece of paper, Negi walked through the gate and knocked on the front door.

A few seconds later, a woman opened the door. She appeared to possibly be in her early twenties, and had long brown hair. Most of her torso was covered in a white apron, most likely from using the kitchen in the back. In short, this woman looked like she jumped out of the dictionary's entry for "Japanese housewife", which startled Negi for a second.

"Can I help you?" the woman asked, with a sweet high-pitched voice.

Negi bowed in response. "Hello, miss. My name is Negi Springfield."

The woman giggled before returning the bow. "You're very polite for someone so young, Negi-san. My name is Kasumi Tendo."

"I am looking for someone by the name of Ranma Saotome. Does he live here?"

"Yes, but he is not here right now. He should be busy with some of his friends."

"Oh. Well, do you know where I can find him?"

"He tends to make a lot of noise when he is with his friends. If you keep searching around town, you should be able to find him." Negi slightly shivered, mostly because of the way Kasumi smiled while she said it.

"Um, thank you, Kasumi-san". Negi bowed a second time, turned around, and walked out past the gate. He could've sworn he heard Kasumi mumble about politeness before the door closed behind him. Turning back towards town, he prepared himself for the one called Ranma Saotome.

**Flashback – 2 days ago**

The sun began to set in the Chinese mountains; the sky lit with an orange glow. Crickets could be heard nearby the small house. The inside, like the outside, had a rustic look and feel, with the few modern appliances being outdated but usable. There was silence in the small household, which was quickly broken by the whistling of a boiling tea kettle.

"Tea is ready!" the man known as the Jusenkyo Guide shouted as he hurried over to stove. He quickly poured two glasses, and passed one to his young foreign guest.

"Thank you, sir." Negi replied. He was already seated at the table, but he bent over slightly to bow. The Guide took a sip of his own tea before taking a seat of his own.

"So, you tell me you want to know about interview, yes?" the Guide inquired.

"Yes sir." Negi responded. "Namely, I wish to know about the people involved in that incident with Saffron. You mentioned something about martial artists?"

"Ah yes. I remember. Give me one moment." The Guide stood up and walked out of the room. 5 minutes later, he came back into the kitchen with a large green book. He skimmed through the pages, before stopping at page towards the end.

The page showed two people. Both had the same hairstyle, a short pigtail, and both even seemed to have the same facial expression. However, the one with black hair was clearly a boy, while the other with red hair was clearly a girl. Negi was further confused when he looked further on the page. All he could read was the name "Ranma Saotome" written in Japanese kanji. He regretted not taking advantage of those free Mandarin lessons he was offered after he graduated.

"This Ranma Saotome." The Guide began, snapping Negi out of his thoughts. "He is very talented Japanese martial artist. I have run into him several times over in past. He is nice boy. Often rude, but still nice."

"So who is the girl?" Negi asked. However, it didn't take long for Negi to quickly consider the possible magic behind Jusenkyo. "Wait, could it be that this is _also _Ranma?"

The Guide laughed. "You very smart young boy. Jusenkyo contain many cursed springs, each with unique effects. When Ranma first arrive in Jusenkyo, he fall into Niannichuan, Cursed Spring of Drowned Girl. Very tragic story of young girl who drown in spring over 1600 year ago. Now he take body of young girl when splash with cold water. He turn back into boy when splashed with hot water."

"Interesting." was all Negi could say. However, his voice was weak as he retreated back into his thoughts.

_I knew the magic here was strong; the springs seem to constantly radiate like the World Tree during the Festival. But I would have never expected this magic to be so complicated! To create a curse with such specific conditions, let alone maintain it, would require much more powerful magic than the wishing spells during the Festival, or the binding spell on Evangeline-san! _The seeds of curiosity were planted, but he quickly refocused himself, before his thoughts ran any further.

He decided to change the subject. "What about the other martial artists?"

The Guide grinned. "Ranma most involved during Saffron battle. He also connected by past to other martial artists. If you want information, you seek him first."

Negi sighed with slight relief, hoping that this would shorten his search. "Can you tell me where to find him?"

"This record lists current address as Tendo Dojo in Nerima, Japan. Others are reported to live in area if you wish to find them."

Negi stood up and bowed once again. "Thank you sir. I just have one question."

"What is it?"

Negi began scratching his head. "Is it okay if I sleep here for the night? I don't have anywhere else to go right now."

The Guide laughed again. "Sure. Guest bedroom upstairs. Make yourself at home, honored guest."

**End Flashback**

Negi stopped and stood in the middle of the street. He had heard something. As he began to focus, he began to recognize the sounds he was hearing. He heard them every time he sparred with Kotaro or Asuna. It was the sound of thrown punches, smashed walls, and determined screams. Could that really be his target? Could it really be that easy? Negi began moving at a faster pace, hoping that the sounds would not disappear. Not only did the noise remain, but as Negi continued, they continued to grow louder and stronger.

It did not take long for Negi to begin ignoring the sounds as his pace grew faster. If Negi had to be most proud of something from his training, it would have to be all of the new knowledge he now had of ki. He could not manipulate ki the way that Kotaro and Kaede could, but it was simple for him to learn how to sense it. And a quick scan with this new sense nearly threw Negi back in astonishment. He didn't expect to feel such an impressive level of ki in such a concentrated area. At this point, Negi was in a full-on sprint, using this sense like the nose of a bloodhound.

After 5 minutes of running, Negi could finally make out some figures in the distance. As he got closer, he could see the skirmish occurring between them. One Negi quickly identified as Ranma, with his black pigtail and red Chinese shirt. Unfortunately, the Guide hadn't told Negi about the other two. The first had black hair like Ranma, but he had no pigtail. He was also wearing a yellow shirt and a yellow bandana with black polka-dots. The other had brown hair, and was dressed in a blue robe. Ranma and the yellow-shirted boy were both fighting with their fists, while the blue-robed boy was wielding a wooden sword. The styles of the first two seemed to be some variant of kung fu, while the third was strictly sticking with kendo.

To Negi Springfield, the skirmish was an interesting and captivating sight. But to Ranma Saotome, it was nothing more than part of his daily routine. There is really no reason to go over all the details of how this fight transpired (i.e. this author is too lazy to write another flashback), so here is the abridged version: Ranma Saotome was walking through the streets alone, hoping that something would fill this otherwise empty day. His prayers (if you can call them such) were answered in the form of one Ryoga Hibiki entering the scene with an attempted flying kick to Ranma's face. Ryoga challenges Ranma's strength, Ranma insults him, blah blah blah and they start fighting. Cue in Tatewaki Kuno, entering the scene during one of his daily strolls through town. Never one to resist a chance to strike his "mortal foe", Kuno jumped into the battle with bokken in hand. Fast forward to around the five and a half minute mark, and Negi arrives.

Anyway, as the fight continued, Negi noticed something. Another thing Negi had learned about ki is that the names of special techniques needed to be shouted out loud in order to use them, much like the chants that activate magic spells. This fight was no different, but he had not seen techniques like this. Ranma would shout something out and begin punching faster than the eye could see, while the other fighter would shout something else and break a section of the wall or floor. Negi first thought that the swordsman had no such skills, but was quickly proven wrong when he suddenly felt his robe tear at his shoulder. However, as Negi surveyed the battle, he noticed something about Ranma's stance and form. He was fighting a lot like how Ku Fei would fight during one of her lessons.

_Ranma's holding back,_ Negi thought. _I expected him to be that strong, but I can't have this fight last all day. It would be best if I finished this mission as soon as possible._

"Um, hello?" Negi said. Of course, no one heard him. Using a normal tone in the heat of combat is the equivalent of muttering to yourself.

"Excuse me?" Negi shouted in a much louder voice. Unfortunately, he never liked shouting loudly, and held back a bit. So once again, no one paid attention. Negi knew that he was going to have to go max-power on this. He closed his eyes, took a big breath, and-

"SSTTTTOOOOOOOOOPPPPPP!" Yeah, that would do it.

The three fighters immediately stopped right in their tracks. Unfortunately, said "tracks" involved Ranma's grabbing Kuno's bokken with his right hand and punching Ryoga in the face with his left, while allowing Ryoga's knee to hit his chest. Ranma had to turn around to see who the other two were looking at, only to see a small red-haired boy with small glasses, a white hooded robe, and a wooden staff strapped to his back. Like the other two, Ranma was confused.

"Oh! Sorry!" the boy cried while bowing to the three. "My name is Negi Springfield. I take it you're Ranma Saotome?" which he said while pointing at the pigtailed martial artist.

Ranma walked over to the boy. "Yeah, that's me. What do you want, kid?"

"I need to talk to you regarding the Saffron incident in China. I heard you were involved in that."

Ranma began to shake his head. "Oh lemme guess, you've come to praise the 'God-Killer' right? Jeez, how many times do I gotta tell people that he wasn't a god! I certainly didn't kill the brat either!"

It was Negi's turn to look confused. "Um, what? I just wanted to ask you about the interview the Jusenkyo Guide gave on television several days ago."

"Oh." Ranma almost slapped himself on the head. Ol' foot-in-the-mouth Saotome strikes again. "Yeah, now that I think about it, I do remember seeing it on TV a while back. What do ya wanna know?"

"Well, I can't exactly ask you now. It's, uh, private. Is there anywhere where we can talk just the two of us?"

"Oh, I get it." Ranma quipped. He knew well about secrets. "Well, how about you and me he-"

"HALT!" Kuno shouted, pointing his bokken at Ranma. "You think I cannot see past your deceptions, sorcerer? You can never hide your schemes from me!"

"Schemes?" Ranma inquired. "What exactly am I 'scheming' this time?" He knew he was going to get a stupid answer, but he decided to bite just to see how stupid.

"Do you take me for a fool, Saotome? Your tricks are obvious! But to think that you would go so low as to use children as distractions as you try to woo my beloved Akane! Your cowardice continues to sicken me!"

Yep, stupid answer. Ranma squeezed the bridge of his nose so hard he almost popped his eyes out. "Look, Kuno, I have no clue who this kid is. I'm not doing anything. I've _never_ done anything. How about we finish this tomorrow and-"

"NO! You will not escape my vengeance!" However, just as Kuno prepared to charge, Negi suddenly stepped in front of Ranma, directly in Kuno's sights.

"Begone, boy!" Kuno shouted. "This is between me and the demon Saotome!"

"I will not!" Negi shouted back. "As of now this fight is over! Whatever feud you have with Ranma-san you will continue another day!"

Kuno was taken aback, and paused slightly, if only to think about what had been said. "Zounds, this is worse than I could have thought! I merely assumed you to be pawn in the sorcerer's schemes, but no! It appears that he has brainwashed you into servitude! How, Saotome, can you be so cruel?"

Ranma appropriately facepalmed. Negi gave the look most people give when their brain shuts down.

Kuno pointed his sword forward. "Fear not, young boy, for I, Tatewaki Kuno, age 17, will save you from the ties that bind you! Vile Saotome, face the blade of the Blue Thunder of Furinken High! EN GARDE!" With that, he charged, bokken waving above his head, prepared for a forward strike. Ranma got into a stance, ready to hit Kuno the moment he got there. He hoped for Negi to get behind him, but then he saw the boy move.

It only lasted an instant. One second, there was nothing but the sound of Kuno's yells. The next, his yells turned into a loud grunt as Ranma heard a sudden burst of wind go through. Ranma noticed the boy was in a martial arts stance of his own, and upon closer inspection, Ranma saw that Negi's fist was drilled into Kuno's chest.

_Wow, this kid's good._ Ranma thought. _So, the kid's a martial artist, eh? Not the last time I've seen kids do crazy stuff. But man, I didn't even see him punch! No one moves that fast!_ Ranma chuckled to himself a bit. _Well, no one except me._

Kuno's body collapsed unconscious on the floor the moment Negi pulled his hand back. "Your name is Kuno-san, right? I apologize for doing that. I didn't even mean to hit that hard. I was just defending myself."

Ranma took a look at Ryoga, only to see the lost boy still shocked at the sight. However, the sound of Kuno's body hitting the floor seemed to snap him back.

"W-WAIT!" Ryoga shouted. "I won't let you get away, Ranma!"

Ranma sighed. "Look, P-Chan, can't you wait a bit while I find out what this kid wants? I'll kick your ass later, okay?"

"You think you can defeat me that easily? I will not stop until I have beaten you!" Ryoga began his charge forward, forcing Ranma to get into his own stance. Ryoga began with a flying kick followed by several wild punches, all of which Ranma was able to block. Ranma countered with his own set of punches, which Ryoga either blocked or took in without flinching.

Suddenly, Ryoga stuck both of his pointer fingers out. "BAKUSAI TENKETSU!" he shouted, before thrusting his hands into the ground. Negi was surprised to see Ryoga's fingers pierce the ground like needles, and was even more shocked to see the ground practically explode upon impact.

As the two continued to throw punches and kicks at each other, Negi observed closely from the distance. Negi was never a fan of violence, and he didn't like to engage in unnecessary fights. He attacked Kuno out of self-defense, and he was hoping that he wouldn't have to intervene against this other boy. However, his patience was beginning to wear thin.

_Ranma's not finishing this as fast as I would have hoped._ Negi thought. _I don't want to fight, but I don't want this to take too long either. Is there anything I could do to speed this up?_ It was at that moment that Negi noticed something else about the scene. He looked back and forth up and down the street and was shocked at what he saw. Or, rather, what he _didn't_ see.

_There's no one here. By now I would usually hear someone ask about the 'effects' that are being used or make comments. But it's completely empty. There's a fight going on in the middle of the street __and _nobody's _here to watch?_ Viewers at home should take note that the fighting amongst the martial artists of Nerima were so commonplace that nobody cared unless there was a big event behind it. Being a newcomer, Negi wouldn't know that. But a light bulb did flash in his head.

_There's nobody here! The only people who could_ possibly _see me are too busy focusing on each other! If I keep it small, I should be able to get away with a quick spell!_ Negi quickly dug in his pockets, and smiled as his hand managed to grab a ring. _And I won't even have to use my staff._

Placing the ring on his finger, Negi began to channel mystical energy.

"Ras tel Ma Scir Magister." Negi chanted in a small whisper. "Flet Una Vente."

"FLANS SALTATIO PULVEREA!" Negi shouted. A powerful gust of wind fired forward towards the martial artists. Ranma and Ryoga noticed it for only a second before the wind swept through them. Neither was blown off their feet, but both had to close their eyes and turn their heads away from the dust

Ryoga started to gag as the dust settled. "Gah! What the hell just happened? Where did all this dust come from?"

"Yo! Ryoga!" Slowly opening his eyes, Ryoga turned to see Ranma already recovered and ready to strike. Before he could react, Ranma struck Ryoga's chest with an upward kick. Said kick seemed to have the force of a rocket, as Ryoga was launched hundreds of feet into the air and off towards the horizon. Most people would've expected Ryoga to disappear behind the shine of a star, but that's just unrealistic.

"GAAAHHHH!" Negi screamed.

Standing his ground, Ranma put his fists to his hips and laughed triumphantly. "HAHAHAHA! Isn't he supposed to be tough as rock? He can't even handle a little dirt!" Finishing his laugh, he turned around towards Negi. "Hey Negi, was that you who just did that?"

Negi wasn't paying attention. He was still in shock over the fact that Ryoga was launched sky-high. Normal response.

"Hey, Negi! Talking to ya here!"

"I-Is he dead?" Negi asked. He looked like he was going to burst into tears.

"Dead?" It took a while for Ranma to get it. "Oh, don't worry about Ryoga. He's tough as a rock. He's been hit with a lot worse."

"R-Really?" Negi began to think. The boy he now knew as Ryoga was shown to be a good martial artist, and martial artists seemed to have a tendency of being able to perform various inhuman feats. Hell, Ryoga was able to break walls _with a single finger_. It was entirely possible that he could've survived it. Negi decided to take Ranma's word on it.

"Yeah, Ryoga's tough. Now, you said you wanted to talk to me about some stuff, right? Well, how about we head over to the Tendo Dojo and talk there?"

Negi nodded. "Sure, Ranma-san. You can lead the way."

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**And thus is my second chapter for this fic. Why the long delay? Part of it is because of SATs and mid-terms. Part of it is the time it took so long for the formatting to start cooperating with me. Part of it is because I'm lazy as hell. Well, at least I managed to get this out, so it can't be too bad.**

**Looking back, I've realized that I've forgotten to state where the continuity is for this story. ****_Ranma 1/2 _****will take place post-manga, although storylines exclusive to the anime, OVAs, and movies will be included. ****_Mahou Sensei Negima!_**** currently takes place at the very beginning of the Magic World arc, during the 2 week time skip from Anya's arrival to Ala Alba's departure. Why "currently"? Well, I'm hoping to time skip the fic into post-Magic World as soon as I know how ****the arc ends. Time skip will be between Chapters 3 and 4.**

**And yes, the little bit about Negi's robe at the beginning is meant to be a jab at Assassin's Creed. Yeah I know it kinda sucks, but I'm working on it.**

**Finally, I'd like to thank Japanese Teeth for proofreading this. I've never been the best with words, so I appreciate any help in making this as clear as can be.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Obligatory Disclaimer: Rumiko Takahashi still owns _Ranma 1/2_, and Ken Akamatsu still owns _Mahou Sensei Negima!_. Now if only a person's fandom could work like stock, then maybe I could own a piece of them pies. Then again, you guys out there would take so much of it that I'd be left with the crust. Worst diet EVER.**

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_**Episode 3: Connection Established**_

"So you wanna know about the Phoenix Tribe thing, right?" Ranma asked as he and Negi continued their walk to the Dojo. "Alright, might as well tell ya now, since no one's here. It all started about 2 weeks ago. I was busy relaxing on the roof after an attempt by Pops and Tendo to get me married with Akane when–"

"Wait, _married_?" Negi asked in a shocked tone.

"Hey, it was all Pops's stupid idea! Like I'd ever marry that uncute tomboy." Ranma gave himself a breath before returning on topic. "As I was saying, I was relaxing when I hear a scream. Checking the street, I see a girl getting attacked by two bird-men. Being the honorable martial artists we are, me and Ryoga beat the two up and get the girl to safety at the Cat Café. Turns out the girl is Plum, the Jusenkyo Guide's daughter."

"The Guide's daughter? I never saw her at all when I visited."

"Believe me, that was the first time I met her, and I've known the Guide a _lot_ longer. Anyway, the two bird-men were soldiers from Mount Phoenix, where all the villagers are cursed by the Spring of Drowned Bird. They attacked Plum because they wanted a map to Jusendo, Jusenkyo's source. They were gonna drain the Springs for some ritual of theirs."

"Wait, the Spring has a Jusenkyo curse, right? Why would they endanger their own cure?"

"I guess they really liked it. Not the first time I've seen that. Besides, they needed the ritual for their king Saffron. Supposed to transform him so that he could work like a generator or something like that."

Negi now looked confused. "That…sounds harmless. And yet you still attacked them?"

"Hey, back then we didn't know what the whole ceremony was for or if the Springs could be brought back. And nobody was gonna risk it. Besides, they attacked first. Would've helped if we knew everything beforehand."

Negi was still confused, but he refused to question further. No use in staying on this topic any longer than necessary. "So, I'm assuming from what was shown on the news that you guys weren't able to hold onto the map, is that correct?"

Ranma sighed. "Yeah, we failed. We tried to split the map up, but they managed to brainwash Shampoo and got her to get the pieces from us."

"Shampoo?" Negi asked. "You lost the map to shampoo?"

Ranma sighed again. "Shampoo. Member of the Chinese Amazons. Waitress at the Cat Café. Constant pain in the ass ever since she arrived. You ain't the first kid to make _that_ joke."

Negi couldn't help but picture a meaner version of Ku Fei, no matter how wrong the picture was. "I-I see. But I've never heard of a _Chinese_ Amazon before."

"Not exactly the biggest group around. So _anyway_, with Shampoo gone we had a new reason to head to China. So Plum set sail back, taking with her me, Pops, Ryoga, and Mousse." Negi quickly labeled "Mousse" as another Amazon name, assuming that Ranma wasn't talking about hair products or friends of flying squirrels. "Long story short, we made it to Jusendo just in time to stop Saffron from completing his transformation. Good thing too, because he's gotta be the toughest punk I've ever fought. Still, I kicked his ass so hard that he froze and shattered to pieces. Don't worry: kid's immortal, and came back as a baby in an egg. They returned to Mount Phoenix, Jusenkyo was restored, and everything's back to normal."

Ranma had smirked towards the end, which only served to trouble Negi again. "You are happy that things are normal, but it sounds like nothing had been changed. How are you sure that this won't happen again?"

"'Cause my fight with Saffron was so powerful that it messed with the mountain _itself_. The whole water flow got rearranged, so now if they want to do the ritual they don't have to shut Jusenkyo off."

Negi felt himself become more relieved. _In other words, the Phoenix Tribe will most likely not become a problem again. Good to know. It would've been harder to keep magic secret if this whole incident repeated itself. Now, on to the next issue at hand…_

"So, Ranma-san, about your curse…"

"That too? Alright, this curse is-" At that instant, Ranma was suddenly soaked with a bucket's worth of water. The Guide had already told Negi about the curse and its effects, but it was better to see the change in person. And it made Negi gasp in shock. Ranma's once-black hair turned bright red. His hips squeezed to give his body an hourglass shape, complimented by his now-larger hips and breasts. His face didn't change much, but it did have more of a "cute girl" look than before. His body shrunk; he was now a full head shorter than before, and although he still looked fit he looked more lean than muscular. However, the biggest shock to Negi was how fast the change had occurred. Ranma had gone from muscular black-haired boy to busty red-haired girl _instantaneously_. Even the age-changing pills took at least a couple of seconds to take effect. He never thought such a change could be made so quickly.

Ranma quickly recognized where she was standing, and quickly turned her head, Behind her was a very old and very short woman who had been tossing water. Before Ranma could say anything, the woman had gone inside.

Ranma began fuming. "Every time I pass by this house that old lady manages to splash me with water. Every. Single. _Time_." She proceeded to punch the nearby wall in a fit of minor rage. As she did this, Negi took note of Ranma's now-feminine voice.

Looking back at Negi, Ranma realized what happened to her body and sighed. "Well, so much for explaining it first. This here is how the curse works. Get splashed with cold water, and I turn into this. Hot water turns me back into my manly self." Negi's gaze was so fixed that he didn't notice the curb. And, well, let's just say that Ranma experienced his first Marshmallow Hell.

(For those of you unaware, "Marshmallow Hell" is when a boy's head gets stuck in a girl's cleavage. Busty girl and short young boy are preferable. For the forceful ramming and nuzzling of one's head into said cleavage, please check under "Glomp".)

Ranma quickly pushed Negi off her. "Just what the hell do you think _you're_ doing?"

"AH! P-Please, don't hurt me! I-I just tripped! It was an accident!"

"Sure it was! Geez, I'm running into younger perverts all the time!"

"I-I wasn't trying to be perverted or anything like that! I just-" At that instant, a quick breeze blew by. Said breeze kicked up some dust. Anyone aware of Negi's allergies can probably guess the result.

"A-A-ACHOOO!" Negi's sneeze released a powerful gust of wind onto Ranma, transforming her shirt and pants into flower petals. Thankfully, Ranma's boxers remained intact. Unfortunately, her breasts now hanged loosely in the wind. Negi, quickly realizing what just happened, could only watch with wide eyes as he tried to think of something to say.

Ranma, looking shocked, looked down at her now-exposed chest. "M-My shirt." she mumbled. "Y-You destroyed my favorite shirt." Anger consumed her as her ki quickly spiked. "SO, didn't get a good look _last_ time, huh?" She began walking forward cracking her knuckles. "Well, how about we fix that?"

At this point, Negi's mind was in too much of a state of panic to try to reason with the now-female, now-naked, and now-pissed-off martial artist in front of him. So, he did the next best thing: He turned around and sprinted as fast as he could.

"Oh no you don't, pervert! GET BACK HERE!" Ranma shouted, as she gave chase.

**X~~~X~~~X~~~X~~~X**

As said before, the people of Nerima are bombarded with the noise of martial arts so much that they cherished any moment of peace that they could get. So it became an unspoken rule of sorts to _never_ go anywhere _near_ the Tendo Dojo. People were savvy enough to know that they were involved with every martial arts and marriage stunt that happened in the town, so people figured that it would always be hectic and chaotic and noisy. And the neighbors would tell you that that was mostly true. However, it was possible for there to be peace within the Tendo household. It didn't _always_ work, but usually the best way to assure the Dojo's peace was to make sure that Ranma wasn't home.

Ranma's absence was especially relieving for one Akane Tendo, who liked it when that annoying jerk wasn't pestering her. Her father, Soun, and his friend, Genma Saotome, were in the living room trying to cheat each other off another game of Go. Her sister Kasumi was preparing dinner in the kitchen, while her other sister Nabiki was in her room, plotting the next day's schemes. This left Akane ample time to finish up some well-needed cleaning around the house. Right now, she was just outside the front gates sweeping dirt. However, as she did so, she quickly turned her head down the street and started looking. She could've sworn she heard a stampede of sorts. It became clearer once it got closer.

"YOU CAN'T KEEP RUNNING!" Ranma's female voice yelled. And thus the peace of Nerima was shattered. Again.

As Ranma's yells became louder, Akane could see what was happening better. And she couldn't believe which was worse: the fact that Ranma was chasing what looked like a cute innocent boy around, or the fact that Ranma was chasing him with her breasts _fully_ exposed. Akane's face quickly glowed a bright red. Whether it was from anger, disgust, embarrassment, or a combination was unknown even to her.

It was usually at this point where Akane would start shouting at Ranma, calling him "stupid" or "perverted" or "a jerk" or something like that. However, this time Akane decided to take a different approach. Noticing that there was a good enough distance between Ranma and Negi, Akane began gripping the end of the broom like a baseball bat. When Negi passed by, Akane quickly made her swing, whacking Ranma right in the face. She quickly fell to the ground, flung forward only by sheer momentum. Hearing the whacking sound, Negi stopped in his tracks at turned around.

"OWW!" Ranma yelped. "Whatcha do that for, you crazy tomb-OOF!" Before Ranma could finish her sentence, Akane had whacked her again, this time in the stomach.

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU? What are you doing picking on little kids for? Are you _that_ petty that you have to beat up _kids_? Doesn't help that you're a girl right now! You look like a desperate pervert!"

Akane smacked Ranma again in the stomach. "And why don't you have a shirt on? How many times to I have to teach you feminine modesty? You can't go running around showing your chest off to everyone, _especially_ little kids!"

Ranma quickly stood up and protested. "Hey, it ain't _my_ fault I'm like this! The little brat over there literally blew my shirt off! Tore it to pieces and everything!"

"Pssh, oh _please_, Ranma. Can't you come up with at least a _plausible_ excuse?" She quickly looked down at Ranma's chest. "And can you please at least _try_ to cover yourself? Little kids here!" Readers at home should note that this is _far_ from the worst that Negi's seen. He's seen several girls _completely_ naked before. At this point, he's immune to this kind of stuff.

"Fine, if it means you're not gonna smack me again." Ranma sighed and crossed her arms, which at least kept her nipples from view. "But it's still his fault! I don't know how this pervert destroyed my shirt, but he did it somehow! I oughta beat him up on principle!"

"Don't worry, Ranma!" an old voice cried out. "I'll help ya out!" Suddenly, a brown-red blur popped up, aiming straight for Ranma. However, she quickly punched downwards, hitting the blur into the ground. What was left was a really old and really short man, holding a pipe in one hand and a pink lace bra in the other.

"Heh, like I'd ever let _you_ help me, you freak."

"Oh come on now, Ranma, let me help. You can always accept help from your master!" The man jumped in the air, trying to tackle Ranma again. However, all his face met with was Ranma's foot as she hit him with an upward kick. Like Ryoga before him, the old man went skyward.

Ranma groaned. "Ugh, hope that keeps _him_ out of the way for a while. Alright, I'm gonna go find some extra clothes. See ya." She turned to the house and ran inside.

Negi was about to say something when a still-red Akane snapped her broom in half, startling him. "I just don't _believe_ how inconsiderate he can be sometimes!" Turning around and seeing Negi, Akane quickly regained her composure. "Oh, sorry you had to see that. Jerks, both of them. So, what's your name, little boy?"

Negi bowed. "My name is Negi Springfield. Yours?"

"I'm Akane. Akane Tendo. Nice to meet you. What are you doing here?"

"I was talking with Ranma-san regarding some…things. Um, I'm sorry if I'm trailing off a bit, but who _was_ that just now?"

"Oh, that was Grandfather Happosai. That old pervert's always causing some kind of trouble. He'll be fine, unfortunately."

Negi was amused at the description. _Sounds like how Asuna-san would describe Chamo-san_.

Akane continued. "While Ranma's getting changed, you want to come in?"

"S-Sure, if that's okay." The two walked inside and into the dining room. There, Soun and Genma (in panda form) were still busy playing Go. Meanwhile, Nabiki was sitting at the table reading one of her books.

"Hi Nabiki. Didn't think you would be down already."

"Hm?" Nabiki hummed, turning her eyes from her book. "Oh, hey Akane. Kasumi said she was gonna be done with dinner soon, so I figured I just wait here." A smirk emerged on her face. "By the way, Ranma passed by me on the staircase. Tell me, did _you_ do that, or did Happosai get to him? Or maybe Kuno managed to get a little close, perhaps?"

Akane turned red again. "I'd never do something perverted like _that_! He was already like that when I saw him!"

"Was he now. Gotta tell him to stop streaking like that in public."

"You're telling _me_. So, Negi, are you…" She trailed off, as she saw Negi frozen by the door frame. "Negi, are you alright?"

"P-P-P-Panda?" he stammered.

The panda turned and held up a sign saying **"It's alright, kid. I'm not gonna bite."** However, as it did so it heard a clacking sound coming from the board. Staring at Soun, the panda flipped the sign around, the other side saying**"Alright, what did you just do?"**

"Oh, nothing, Saotome-kun." Soun muttered. "Akane, you can sit down if you wish."

"Thanks Dad. Oh, I didn't introduce you all yet! Negi, this is my dad, Soun Tendo," she said, pointing to the man with long black hair and a black moustache opposite the panda, "the panda is Ranma's dad, Genma Saotome, and that over there," now pointing to the short brown-haired girl at the table, "is my sister Nabiki."

"Um, hi." Negi said, bowing. "My name is Negi Springfield. Nice to meet you all."

"Hello there, lad." Soun replied as he poured hot water on Genma, turning him from a panda into a bald man with glasses.

"AGHH! Do you always gotta make it so hot, Tendo-kun?"

"Don't be such a baby, Saotome-kun. Negi, would you like to join us?"

"If that's okay with you."

Soun took the seat at the end, while Genma sat next to him. Akane and Negi both sat next to each other towards the middle, with Nabiki on the other side. Ranma soon entered the room, now male and now sporting a shirt similar to his previous one, but blue.

"Hey guys." Ranma said. "I heard dinner's just about ready. Good, I'm _starving_." He took the seat across from his father.

Kasumi entered the room carrying a tray of food. "Dinner's ready." As she put the tray down, she saw Negi. "Oh! Negi-kun! I didn't realize you'd be back so soon!" She gave him a quick bow before sitting next to Nabiki.

As Negi returned the bow, Akane turned over towards him. "You know Kasumi?"

"I stopped by the house earlier to find Ranma-san." Negi said. "I met Kasumi-san then." Akane responded with a simple nod. "So, Ranma-san," Negi continued, "your father was a panda bear a couple of minutes ago. I'm assuming it's another Jusenkyo curse. Are there any others?"

Ranma turned towards Negi, his face still somewhat full from the rice that he had been chowing down. "There's Shampoo, who turns into a cat, and then there's Mousse, who turns into a duck. I've met others with curses, but they don't show up all that much."

"And how many people know about the curse?"

"Other than everyone here, I'd say everyone at school at least."

Negi's eyes suddenly went blank. "Th-The _entire_ school knows?_Ev-Everybody_?"

Ranma took a moment to think. "Well, the Kunos don't know, but then again, they're too dense to ever figure it out. Otherwise, yeah, everyone."

"You're asking a lot of questions, boy." Nabiki said, staring at Negi. "Why is that?"

Negi gulped a bit of saliva as he brought up his alibi. "W-Well, I saw that whole report on the news, and I was so fascinated that I went all the way to China to meet Jusenkyo Guide-san about it. He told me to come here."

"But you look shocked about the school knowing about Ranma's curse. Why would you care?"

"Nabiki, don't be rude." Akane replied.

"No, it's okay Akane-san." Negi said, "I was just curious, Nabiki-san. I'm just surprised that so many people know. I would've expected to have at least heard about it by now." It wasn't a _complete_ lie, but Negi still had his mental fingers crossed.

Nabiki paused for a bit, then shrugged. "Yeah, that is kinda weird. But oh well." She returned to her dinner as Negi gave himself a mental pat on the back.

"If you don't mind," Soun began, "I have a question for you. The name 'Springfield' is clearly not Japanese. Where are you from?"

"I am from Wales, Tendo-san."

"Wales?" Akane asked. "Where's that?"

"I think it's somewhere nearby Britain." Nabiki answered. "You're a long way from home, kid. Why are ya here?"

"I'm here because I am currently studying as a teacher."

"Wait, WHAT?" In shock, Akane had sprung up from her seat, only to lean towards Negi and stare. "Hey, Ranma, you said Negi was a martial artist, right? Anything like Ninomiya-sensei?"

"Not when I saw him." Ranma answered. "Looking at him right now, I don't think so. Teach's altered metabolism causes her ki to act a little differently. I'm not seeing that with Negi here."

Negi stared blankly again, only this time with confusion. "Ni-Ninomiya-sensei? Altered metabolism? What do you mean?"

Akane sat back down. "Ninomiya-sensei's our English teacher. Grandfather Happosai used pressure points to change her metabolism, allowing her to absorb ki. However, this means that she looks like a kid all the time. It's only when she's absorbed ki that she looks like an adult."

"W-Well, I can assure you, Akane-san, that I am not like that at all."

"So you're an actual kid, and yet you're a _teacher_? What are you, some kind of genius prodigy?"

Negi chuckled a bit. "Some of my students actually called me that when I first arrived. I don't think I deserve such a big title though."

Kasumi decided to chime in. "I think it's wonderful that a boy like Negi-kun is able to hold a job at such a young age. Where do you teach?"

"I am an English teacher at Mahora Academy."

Soun nodded. "I have heard of Mahora before. I've heard that it is a very prestigious school."

"I've heard of it too." Nabiki added. "You teaching at the main district?" Negi could only respond with a nod. "Interesting, 'cause the main district happens to be the largest all-girl school in the country." The mere mention of "all-girl" caused Akane to flush red again, giving Nabiki a devious grin. "Why would they surround a cute boy like you with so many girls?"

That comment caused Akane to turn redder than a solar flare. "St-Stop it, Nabiki! You can't suggest that Negi's a pe-pervert! He's too young, nice, and innocent to be a pervert!"

"Didn't stop him from destroying my shirt, did it?" Ranma asked, staring at Negi in a way that made Negi feel squirmish. "Which leads to _my_ question: How the _hell_ did you do that?"

Negi, now in a semi-panic from Ranma's staring, quickly tried to come up with an excuse. "That was, uh, a technique I learned a few years back." Replace "technique" with "spell" and it was accurate, so Negi didn't feel that awkward saying it.

"Technique? Really? But I didn't sense that much ki. How'd you get something that big out of it?"

By now, Ranma didn't seem to be angry about the lost shirt anymore, but instead seemed to be genuinely curious. This only rattled Negi more as he tried to come up with a believable story. It was then that Negi thought back to the other two martial artists he met with Ranma. Specifically, he thought about Tatewaki Kuno.

"When I met you, I noticed that Kuno-san was capable of literally cutting the air. I have a gash in my robe to prove it. You do know of this, yes?" Ranma nodded, allowing Negi to proceed. "Well, my technique works in a similar way. However, the force I create is flat instead of sharped like Kuno-san's, which is how it was able to create the force of wind between you and Ryoga-san. The force is strong enough to blow away clothing if close enough."

If Negi had his eyes closed, it's because the strain of pulling that big of a lie was getting to him. As Ranma paused to let the words sink, Negi prayed to God that it would work.

"Well, I gotta say, I'm impressed, kid." Ranma responded, breaking the silence. "What else can you do?"

Negi practically jumped into response. "I'd prefer not to do any more. I don't want to exhaust myself."

"Whatever." Ranma replied, going back to finishing his meal. With that, Negi could finally breathe again. Negi-2 Other-0.

However, Negi relief didn't last too long as Nabiki spoke again. "You didn't answer my question yet. Why are you teaching at an all-girls school?"

"To be honest, I don't know. I was assigned to Mahora when I graduated, and I was allowed to work full-time when I proved that I could do a good job. It helped that I became popular among my students. The Headmaster of the Academy in Wales and the Dean of Mahora are both good friends, so maybe the Headmaster wanted to make sure I was safe."

That, and a large of number of Mahora's staff consists of mages and magic-knowing humans who would be more than willing to keep an eye on Negi and make sure that he didn't blow his cover. Not that he'd ever say that out loud. Granted, he_still_ blew his cover, but at least they tried.

"Well, the food was good as always, Kasumi." Nabiki muttered, yawning and stretching her arms. "Geez, I'm tired already. Shouldn't have stayed up so late last night. I think I'm going to get ready for bed."

"Same." Akane replied. However, as she got up something came across her mind. "Hey Negi, where are you going now exactly?"

Negi hesitated. "Well, truthfully, I just came into town earlier today, and I wasn't expecting to be here for so long."

"So you don't have anywhere to stay? I can't accept that! Dad, is it okay if Negi stays over for the night?"

Soun thought it over as he was setting up the Go board. "Unfortunately we don't have any more bedrooms available."

"Then he can stay in my room!"

Nabiki smirked. "Wow, Akane. I've didn't think you could be so insistent on having boys in your room."

"I-It's not like that! It's just not right for a little boy like Negi to be wandering around so late at night. Besides, Negi is young and innocent and I can trust him more in my room than with anyone else."

"Why do you keep looking at _me_?" Ranma shouted.

"It's alright, Akane-san. I can handle myself just fine. I don't want to be a burden at all."

"You won't be! Come on, you can stay over for the night and be back on the road by morning. Besides, the city at night can be a bad place for a kid like you. What do you say?"

At this point, Negi was finding it hard to deny such hospitality. "Al-Alright. I'll stay."

With everyone preparing for sleep, Negi was dragged upstairs and through a door with a hanging duck-shaped "Akane" nameplate. Akane left, allowing Negi to take in his surroundings. Other than the dumbbells on the side, it looked like a typical bedroom you'd expect a teenage girl to have. He still felt like he was being a burden, but he was too grateful of Akane's generosity to upset her by leaving. Akane returned shortly later, carrying a spare pillow and blanket. Negi was fine with sleeping on the floor, and did so as Akane tucked herself into bed.

"Goodnight, Negi."

"Goodnight, Akane-san." As he turned to sleep, he suddenly remembered a question. "Akane-san, when I met Ranma-san earlier, he mentioned Tendo-san and Saotome-san trying to get you and Ranma-san married. Can you explain?"

"Ugh, he mentioned it? I was hoping to go on tonight without having to talk about it. Long story short, Dad and Saotome-san made a promise years ago saying that they would unite the Dojo by having their kids get married. Don't really think about it too much. I'd never love an insensitive jerk like him. Goodnight."

As he passed out, two things came up in Negi's mind. First, he thought he heard a hint of a lie in Akane's voice when she mentioned how she didn't love Ranma. Second, he prayed that Akane didn't smell like Nekane. He really couldn't afford to sleep-hug tonight.

**The Next Morning**

Akane quickly sprang down the stairs. Turning a few corners, she saw Kasumi preparing breakfast.

"Kasumi! Where did Negi go?"

"Oh, you're up Akane. Negi-kun already left. He seemed to be in a rush. He was the first after me to wake up, and he didn't even stay for breakfast. He did tell me to give his regards to the family."

With that, Kasumi continued cooking, while Akane went back to her room. _He left without saying goodbye_, Akane thought as she stared out the window. _What was he in such a rush for?_

**Two Days Later**

"Ah, Negi-kun! Good to have you back! Though I'm surprised that the trip took so long. How did it go?"

Negi was sweating and panting. "It went well, Dean-san. I'm happy to inform you that the Saffron incident is no longer of risk."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I found the Jusenkyo Guide, who led me to Ranma Saotome-san in Nerima. Ranma-san told me that the Phoenix Tribe will not be a problem." Negi proceeded to relay everything that Ranma had told him.

Konoe nodded in approval. "Excellent, Negi-kun. Now, what of the Jusenkyo curses?"

"Um, there's good news and bad news. The bad news is that a good portion of Nerima knows of the curses. Ranma can confirm that the student population of the local high school knows, but there may be more."

"That's…a large number, Negi-kun. How could we not have known this earlier?"

"That's what I thought! But earlier that day I saw a fight that Ranma-san got into, and saw that nobody was paying attention to it. My best guess is that such events are so common that nobody gives them any special attention."

"An interesting hypothesis, Negi-kun, but it's too risky for me to rely on. Tell me, what's the good news?"

Negi panted and wiped some sweat from his brow. "The good news is actually in two parts. The first part is that the only magic is from the curses. All of the stuff Ranma-san could do is ki based, so it's not a big concern for us. The second part is that I have fixed everything."

"And what do you mean by that, exactly?"

"I did spend a night in Nerima, but at sunrise I quickly left and returned to Jusenkyo. After talking with Guide-san, I managed to get a barrel of water from the Spring of Drowned Man. Guide-san told me that it would work as a cure. I just returned from delivering it personally."

The Dean nodded and clapped. "Negi-kun, you have done us a great service. You have averted a potential disaster. Your mission is done. And just in time for you to leave, too! Go have fun with your vacation. It's definitely well-deserved."

Negi bowed, and left the Dean's office. A smile of relief was painted on his face. _Yes, everything's under control now. I gave Ranma-san enough to cure an entire town! If only I could've actually given it to them instead of sneaking up and leaving it by the front door. Oh well. I like them, but I hope this never becomes a problem again._

**X~~~X~~~X~~~X~~~X**

_Dear Ranma Saotome,_

_Anonymous boy tell me you not cured yet. So I give you new barrel of Niannichuan. Make sure you use this time! I make no more!_

_-Jusenkyo Guide_

This letter, which had once served as the barrel's label, was now soaked in a puddle of the barrel's contents. At the center of the puddle was Ryoga and Ranma, kneeling down with a look of shock in their eyes. This scene would make any sympathizer for them happy, until you learned two things. First, both boys did not look wet. Second, Ranma was not a boy.

"HAHAHAHAHA!" Happosai cackled. "Did you think it would be so simple, boy? I can't let you escape with a cure that easily! Not when I just got all this nice new lingerie for you to try out!"

Ranma, still shocked from the loss, stood her ground and glared at Happosai. "Ryoga?"

Ryoga was still on the ground, but had a similar glare. "Yeah?"

"Truce?"

"You bet."

Just as Happosai prepared another Happo Fire Burst, Ranma and Ryoga lunged forward. They shouted the first thing they could think of.

"YOU'RE GONNA PAY FOR THIS YOU BASTARD!"

**X~~~X~~~X~~~X~~~X**

"Hey, Negi-kun!" Negi turned around, and saw Asuna Kagurazaka, his student/roommate, wave as she approached. With her were fellow classmates Nodoka, Yue, and Haruna.

"Hello, Asuna-san. How is everything?"

Asuna leaned forward and grabbed Negi's head. "WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? Ever since you disappeared Eva-chan's been giving me and Kotaro-kun hell!"

"Gah! I'm sorry, Asuna-san! I was just on business!"

"What kind of business could you _possibly_ be on, especially when we're supposed to be leaving soon?"

"Dean-san needed me to do a favor for him. Something regarding martial artists in Nerima. There's really no need for me to-"

"WAIT DID YOU SAY NERIMA?" This interruption came courtesy of Haruna, who had quickly gotten all up in Negi's face, causing him to freeze.

Negi stared back at Haruna with a confused look in his eyes. What could she have known about Nerima? Did she know what _he_ had done? And then it hit him, causing his eyes to go wide. The girl in front of him was Haruna _Saotome_. Stammering, he answered, "W-Wait, Haruna-san, a-are you r-r-related to R-Ranma-san?"

Haruna picked Negi up by the collar and started shaking him. "YOU'VE MET RANMA-KUN? WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME?"

"GGAAAAHH! PLEASE DON'T HURT ME! I DIDN'T REALIZE!"

Asuna's anger was now replaced with confusion. "Uh, Paru, who's Ranma?"

Haruna struck a dynamic pose. "Ranma-kun is my martial artist cousin, of course! Honya-chan, you remember that aunt I told you about? The one with the same name as you who I visit every now and then?" It took a bit of thinking before Nodoka nodded. "One thing she's always talking about is her son Ranma, the 'man amongst men'!"

"_You_ have a martial arts cousin? _That_I didn't see coming." Asuna snarked. "So, what's he like?"

"…I've never met him before." Haruna admitted, though still maintaining her pose. Asuna facevaulted. "Uncle Genma took Ranma-kun when he was a kid. Aunt Nodoka only found them about a month ago."

"Sounds over-dramatic if you ask me. C'mon, Negi-kun! We've only got a couple of days left!"

"Alright, Asuna-san! I'm coming!"

The group went off to join the rest of their gang as the prepared for their trip to Wales. Days later, they would set off on schedule to Mundus Magicus, the Magic World. Negi decided not to think about Ranma, believing that he was no longer an issue to care about. It helped that so much happened upon arrival to the Magic World that Negi couldn't think of anything other than the present. So it all ends nice and smoothly and this crossover is officially done, right?

A reader would be foolish to think that would be true. You see, Ranma is what TV Tropes would call a "Weirdness Magnet". Pretty self-explanatory; Ranma is considered like a magnet that attracts weirdos. And like any magnet, Ranma is perfectly capable of attracting the same weirdos whenever fate decides the next boxing match isn't going to be exciting enough (read: all the damn time). However, this is going to be an interesting case that Ranma has never seen before. It's not just Ranma and Negi this time. It's Mahora and Nerima.

Spoilers? Not really. You should've figured it was going to happen anyway. It'd be a stupid crossover if it _didn't_. Now, before I drag this _all_ the way to Hell, here's the finisher: Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to…

_**Magister Ran-Magi**_

_A Mahou Sensei Negima!/Ranma ½ Crossover Fic by Watchtower_

**End Prologue**

* * *

**Hey guys. Geez, it's been a lot longer than I thought. Well, good news is that with school done, I'm going to have a lot more free time to work on this. Not a lot, if my mom has anything to say about it.**

**I already knew this chapter was going to be long, but I had no idea it would be _this_ long. It didn't help that I had to make it even _longer_ to avoid running into plot holes. Thank you guys for your reception, support, and patience.**

**The first section that I put big emphasis on while writing this was how Negi tried to justify accidently blowing up Ranma's shirt. I needed a way to get Negi out of that little situation, and I thought that creating a parallel to Kuno would make for an interesting connection. The second was Negi's failed attempt at curing Ranma. I wanted to get Negi out of Nerima in a way where the Dean wouldn't swarm Nerima in search for Ranma. After many failed attempts at creating a believable excuse for Negi not trying to cure Ranma, it suddenly clicked to me that this isn't the first time that Ranma's had access to a cure. So I rewrote the whole bit to what you see here. I personally believe that it's more in-character and funnier, and I hope you guys feel the same way.**

**Finally, I'd just like to thank Japanese Teeth again for proofreading this...again.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Obiligatory Disclaimer...yeah I'm done with that gag now. I'm just not creative enough to keep it going. Fun while it lasted.**

**I realize I forgot to put a spoiler warning last chapter, so I'm putting one here. From this point on, I am assuming that you (the reader) are completely up-to-date with Negima. The Magic World Arc is now over, and I am ready and willing to take full advantage of the new status quo. If you are not caught up with the scanlations, then open a new tab, find the scans, and start reading. Don't worry, I'll be here when you get back.**

* * *

**_Episode 4: Crisis at Mahora!_**

Silver steel corridors running at both sides, the ceilings shining white with light. Dirt zipping past beyond the tinted windows. Miscellaneous posters scattered on the walls. These were the sights of Ranma's surroundings as he took note of his first ride on a train.

He had never had to ride one before. Before Nerima, Ranma and his father would travel across the land on their own feet. They would never settle for any vehicle, even preferring to swim their way to their fateful destination in China rather than use a boat. (well, that and they couldn't afford it). Once he had settled in Nerima, Ranma had little need to travel anywhere else. Sure, he _did_ take the occasional adventure outside Nerima's borders, his most recent being his journey back to China and against Saffron, but otherwise Ranma remained stationary. He did know of trains – he wasn't the best with technology, yes, but he wasn't _that_ stupid – but he had never had the need.

Now, he could voice his own opinion. He did not like trains. At all.

He did like a train's speed, and wouldn't mind using it to get places where his "leap across buildings like Daredevil" technique wouldn't work, but Ranma is not what one would call "patient". He had not been on the train long, but already the act of standing still with his hand clenched onto the upper rail was boring him. The only thing that kept his from falling asleep was the constant shift in balance he had to make every time the train so much as twitched, which only served to piss him off.

Ranma let out an upset grunt. "Are we there yet?"

"Ranma, you ask one more time and I'll cave your face in."

"Oh shut up, P-Chan. I'm getting sick and tired of all this-OWW!" Ranma started rubbing the newly-formed bump on the back of his head. "What was that for, Akane?"

"Be quiet and stop picking on Ryoga-kun! We'll get there when we get there!"

"Hehehe," a voice chuckled, coming from the nearby seat. "Never would I have thought torturing Ranma could've been so easy."

"I don't need any from you either, Nabiki!" Ranma shouted, glaring at her as she flipped through the newspaper. "I still can't believe we're even doing this."

"Hey, you were the one who wanted to visit Mahora in the first place."

"Yeah I know, but I said that _two weeks ago_. Why the hell are we doing this now again?"

"Ugh, not everyone has free schedules all the time, Ranma. Besides, it wasn't _my_ fault that the subway was facing some…technical difficulties." She turned her eyes up, but Ranma noticed she wasn't looking at him.

"St-stop staring," Ryoga stammered, complete with a minor blush. "I-it was only an accident."

"With you, it probably was. Just be patient, Ranma. We'll be at Kawagoe Station in a couple of minutes, and then it's only about 15 minutes on the Kawagoe Line."

"Alright, but one other question: Why is _she_ here?" Ranma's question was punctuated with free hand jutting forward, his finger pointing at the woman sitting next to Nabiki. The woman was very old and shriveled, wearing a green and red robe. She appeared to be only 2 feet tall, but her silver hair and wooden staff were much longer.

With attention called to her, she smilied. "I am allowed to travel with you, aren't I, son-in-law? I promise that I have nothing planned for you today."

The way she said that, combined with her smiling face, made Ranma cringe. "Fine, but explain what _they're_ doing here." Ranma once again pointed, this time down the train car to a couple standing close to each other. The man had long black hair, a long white robe, and large glasses. The girl had purplish-blue hair, the top part tied into buns, and was wearing a white and red gown. The man's face was one of joy; the girl's, however, was one of frustration.

"When I told Shampoo that I was going to be on this trip with you, she begged to come along. I wasn't in the mood to make her upset, so I let her come. As for Mousse, well, you know how much he likes to be with her. Plus, it gives me an excuse to close the restaurant for today."

**X~~~X~~~X~~~X~~~X**

"We've got 2 more orders, Ukyo-sama!"

"Don't worry 'bout it, Konatsu! We can handle this!"

Ukyo Kuonji was the best at what she did. She could make some damn good food and knew how to run a restaurant pretty damn well. She had a simple 3-step process of running things: 1) Have Konatsu look pretty to attract hungry teenage men, 2) Give food to hungry teenage men, and 3) Count money made off of hungry teenage men. And for the most part it got the job done. However, little can prepare a shop for Wave 3 of what is known as Lunch Rush Hell. Simply put, if the customers look like the human equivalent of a flash flood, then there's problems.

_This is all Cologne's fault!_ Ukyo's thoughts screamed as she served a family-sized okonomiyaki. _Whenever the Cat Café closes down things always get hectic! But that old hag didn't have to send me a letter _taunting _it! Like she set this up to get rid of me!_

_But then she mentioned leaving with Nabiki. And Akane. And Ranma's name was inked so hard it looked like it was engraved in stone! And this trip being all Ranma's idea? Just what is he up to?_

"Ukyo-sama! They're starting to get antsy!"

Ukyo could only grunt. _Damn it, Ranchan, you better have an explanation for this!_

**X~~~X~~~X~~~X~~~X**

Cologne laughed. "Hohoho! I do hope you can explain this to that poor girl Ukyo. She'd certainly want one."

"Cologne, you do know that you're a sick ol'-"

Ranma was interrupted by a loud bell sound. "THIS STATION IS YOYOGI. TRANSFERS ARE TO THE YAMANOTE, CHUO-SOBA, AND MAHORA LINES. THE NEXT STATION IS SHINJUKU."

"C'mon Ranma." Nabiki muttered as she stood up. "Time to go."

**X~~~X~~~X~~~X~~~X**

Ranma had seen big things before, but as he left the train he could still feel his eyes go wide and his jaw go slack.

What lay before him was a long strip that served as Mahora's plaza. The strip widened further than any street Ranma had ever seen, and seemed to stretch for a long time before coming up to the steps of the Academy. Speaking of the Academy, its size put Furinken to shame as it managed to stretch as wide as the strip and still towered despite its distance. People moved all about the plaza, the largest groups seen at the stores lining the plaza's edge and in the trolleys that cut through its center. But what really caught Ranma's eye was the largest tree that he had ever seen. It looked so big that it appeared to dominate the horizon even at a distance. The sun had just about set, but the plaza and tree glistened with life under the moonlight.

"Whoa," Ranma muttered. He was taken from his shock when he noticed that a female voice had repeated the same thing next to him. Turning to his side, Ranma saw Akane looking as amazed as he was.

"Told you guys this was big," Nabiki mumbled, looking at the plaza with confidence in her eyes. "Well, since it looks like we got the night to ourselves, I figure I best get going."

Akane was snapped out of her trance. "Wait, you're going? Where?"

"Sis, do you _see_ everything going on here? I'm gonna have myself a fun night." With that, she walked off, her confidence carrying over to her stride.

The pause only lasted a second before Akane broke it. "I think I should go with Nabiki. Just to make sure she doesn't do anything. You coming, Ranma?" She turned to find Ranma now staring at her, his jaw closed but his eyes somewhat glazed. The look gave her the kind of creepy feeling that made her spine shiver. "Ranma, you okay?"

Ranma snapped himself back into reality, and tried to hold back a blush. He was staring at Akane again. For the last few weeks he realized that he was staring at her a lot more often, and it left him feeling confused. She'd always be a tomboy to him, but something inside wanted to blurt out that she looked cute. Something that he wanted to beat up, along with anyone that wanted to question him.

"AIREN!" Just before he could even let out a stammer, Ranma was assaulated by another of Shampoo's patented glomps.

"Oh, well I see that you're busy, so I guess I'll just go on my own then," Akane said, glaring. With that, she quickly turned herself back around and let out a small "Hmph!" before walking off.

"WAI-AAAGH!" Ranma couldn't even let out a word before he found himself carried off into the plaza by Shampoo, his legs dragging on the stone ground. Mousse and Ryoga could only watch as Shampoo and Ranma disappeared into the crowd.

Mousse pushed up his glasses. "Uh, I'm gonna follow them. Make sure Shampoo and Ranma aren't alone. See ya, Ryoga." Spotting Shampoo's general direction, he walked away.

Ryoga hesitated. He wanted to go with Akane, since Ranma wouldn't keep her safe, but he realized that he couldn't find her in the crowd, and he feared wandering would just get him lost again. His nerves grew more agitated as Mousse began to disappear. It didn't take long for him to break.

"W-wait! Mousse! I'm coming with you!"

Meanwhile, Shampoo continued to march forward, a happy grin on her face and a joyful skip in her step. She was never able to be with Ranma a lot (a fact that she always blamed on Akane trying to steal him away), so she took advantage of any time she could find Ranma alone to take him on a nice date. Granted, her definition of "date" has been called "stalkerish" and "manipulative" by others, but she never gave them mind. She was currently thinking of just where she could forcibly drag Ranma to when she heard a faint growl come from her side.

"Hm? Airen growl? Airen hungry?"

Ranma turned slightly pale as he looked up at her. "It's alright. I'll be fine." However, his thoughts were different as he looked back towards his stomach. _Of course I'm hungry! I should've eaten dinner an hour ago! But there's no way in _hell_ that I'm eating with you!_ His stomach betrayed him with another growl, turning Ranma's pale face red.

"Ah, Airen stomach no lie! We find food!" Shampoo began her scan of the area, invigorated by a newfound sense of dedication. Catching her eye was a small trolley-like cart nearby. The words **Chao Bao Zi** were neon-lit on its roof, and in the cart stood a slightly-plump black-haired girl. The seats were empty, and the girl appeared to be washing dishes. "Chinese food and no line? Perfect! We go!" Dragging him up to the cart, she threw him at the centermost chair while she took the seat at his right.

"Welcome to the Chao Bao Zi! My name is Satsuki Yotsuba. What would you like?"

Shampoo leaned onto Ranma and embraced him, a seductive look in her eyes. "We order dumpling meal. For two." The second sentence was said with a flirtatious purr that made Ranma furious.

"Alright then. Dumplings for two, coming right up."

Ranma watched Satsuki for the five minutes it took her to cook, if only because he had no interest in paying Shampoo any attention. Watching her reminded him much of watching Kasumi's evening cooking. The smell of the food even took him to that same little place in personal heaven that he went to whenever Kasumi came out with dinner.

"Here you go. Enjoy!"

Ranma grabbed a dumpling and plopped it into his mouth. "Oh…oh man, that is just _delicious!_ This food's as good as Kasumi's!" Ranma threw another dumpling into his mouth, a grin forming as he chewed.

"What?" Shampoo asked, looking startled. "You give." She grabbed a dumpling, ate it, and nearly went into shock. "Oh my! This good!"

"Glad you two like i-" Satsuki found herself cutting her sentence short as she stared at the giant ball of iron that was now about two inches from her face. She didn't stop smiling, although one could see that she was beginning to sweat nervously.

"Dumpling would be very good for restaurant. You give me recipe, yes?"

"Shampoo, can you please put the chui down?" Shampoo saw a hand reach to her weapon and lower it. She turned to see Mousse, who was taking the seat next to her.

"Oh. You come, stupid duck-boy." Shampoo laid the chui down next to her and took her seat, now looking disappointed. Ryoga took the seat next to Ranma, catching his attention.

"Hey Ryoga. I'd give you some of the food, but I don't know how you'd feel about eating pork."

"Oh ha ha, Ranma. I suppose I should go tell Akane about how you two are spending your date."

"Oh c'mon, Ryoga, you know this isn-AAK!" Ranma found himself being smothered once again by Shampoo's embrace.

"Oh, you no mean that, airen! This date most fun!"

"You know I should beat you up for this, Ranma." Ryoga said matter-of-factly. "Akane wouldn't like this at all."

"I said this wasn't a date!" Ranma shouted, shaking Shampoo off. "I don't see why you're defending Akane anyway. It's not like you should care."

"Of course I should care! You take that back!"

"Try me, P-Chan!"

On instinct, Ryoga swung his arm back and tightened his fist, ready to smack Ranma in the face with a good right hook. However, just before he let loose he felt a sudden force holding his hand back. He turned around to find that his fist was being held by a man that looked only slightly older than him. His most notable traits were his black jacket-like robe and a pompadour that extended almost half a foot from his head.

Ryoga glared. "Hey! What are you doing? You defending Ranma?"

The man smiled. "I don't want to fight, but I'm not going to have you two fight either. I can feel you guys have enough ki to wreck this joint, and none of us want that to happen, right?"

Ranma stared. "You can feel ki? You're a martial artist?"

"Yup. The name's Kaoru Gotakuji. What about you guys?"

"I'm Ranma Saotome. Pork breath over here's Ryoga." Ryoga shot a quick glare at Ranma, which he ignored. "And those two back there are Shampoo and Mousse."

Kaoru looked at the two Amazons. "They got a Chinese look to them. Very appropriate." He then turned his attention to the chef. "Hey, Satsuki-chan. Just get me a glass of water."

Ranma still looked at Kaoru with an odd look. "Thanks for the help. Not like I really needed it."

Kaoru grabbed his glass and took a sip. "No need to start a fight if no one's expecting one. Just sitting here, eating, relaxing, it all feels great! It's too nice of a night for violence!"

**X~~~X~~~X~~~X~~~X**

Hell had descended upon Mahora.

Screams could be heard through the street as the demons rained from the sky. Their claws ripped through the steel and brick of trolleys and buildings, sending debris flying through the air like hail. They came in various shapes and sizes, but they all stomped on the ground with the same fear-inducing ferocity. They were surprisingly silent and surprisingly restrained against doing physical harm, but there was still an army-like efficiency in the spread of chaos.

"You just had to jinx it, didn't you?" Ranma shouted as he socked a demon with a right hook.

"How could I have seen _this _happening?" Kaoru replied, landing a sidekick straight into another demon's chest.

Seeing his target still dazed, Ranma jumped up and hit the demon with and uppercut square on the chin. A black substance was coughed onto Ranma's sleeve as he finished his motion, knocking the demon onto its back. Meanwhile, Kaoru waited for his target to kneel before finishing the job with a neck chop.

"Impressive, Ranma! I've never seen that style before! What is it?"

Ranma smirked. "The Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts."

"Ah, a family style! Nice!" Then Kaoru saw Ranma's sleeve. "Eugh, what is _that?_"

Ranma took a look for himself. "No clue. Probably blood."

"These guys bleed? Gross." Kaoru took a look around. "Say, Ranma, where'd your buddies go?"

Ranma also took a second to look. "I dunno. We must've gotten separated."

At that moment, a third demon arrived, charging his way towards the two martial artists. However, Ranma and Kaoru heard a voice shout "RETSUKUSHO!" followed by a beam of ki nailing the demon right in the face. As it fell, Ranma and Kaoru looked behind them and saw three men. The man in the center wore a white gi and black belt and had short brown spikey hair with a section tied into a short pigtail. The man on the right had a dark blue Chinese-style jacket and shoulder-length black hair, his most notable traits being his big bushy eyebrows and his big lips. The oddest looking was the man on the left. His hair was long, spikey, and bleach-white, and he wore a black bodysuit and black gloves that extended past his elbows.

Kaoru gave a thumbs up. "Thanks for the save, Tatsuya-kun!"

The center one waved. "No prob, Kaoru-kun! Who's your friend?"

"This here's Ranma Saotome. He's a martial artist like us. Ranma, these are my friends from the Tournament. The guy in the middle is Tatsuya Nakamura. The one on the right is Pochi Daigoin, while the one on the left is Keiichi Yamashita."

Ranma looked intrigued. "Tournament? What tournament?"

"The Legendary Mahora Martial Arts Tournament during Mahorafest last month? Were you there?" Kaoru was surprised to see Ranma shake his head. "Aw, you missed out, dude! Look it up whenever you get a chance. I gotta say, that fighting was _intense_. Right guys?" Tatsuya and Keiichi responded with nods (Tatsuya more enthusiastically) while Pochi just stared into the distance.

"Hey Pochi-kun, you alright?" Tatsuya asked, only to gasp as he saw a swarm of demons charge towards a group of civilians. In front of the group was a girl with black hair parted into two ties. She had glasses, wore a black skirt and beret, and wielded a short staff. "Oh shit, that girl's in trouble!"

"Not if I have anything to say about it!" Kaoru shouted. "SHIN OTOKODAMA!"

A beam of energy shot from Kaoru's hand, knocking a demon on its back. The crowd gasped and the girl turned in astonishment.

Kaoru continued his cry. "We're just some passing martial artists joining the fight! I've got no idea what's going on, but we're here to back you up!"

"You are…um, who are you?" the girl asked. "Oh, the commentator!"

"Whoa!" Kaoru shouted, causing the girl to turn again. The rest of the demons had gathered together, chanting in an inhuman tongue as strange energy emitted from their hands. A rune suddenly appeared, emitting the same energy and covering the ground that Kaoru and his friends stood on.

"Is that high ancient magic?" the girl muttered. "Oh no! Get back!"

"Don't worry," Ranma yelled, "'cause now it's my turn! MOKO TAKABISHA!" He crossed his arms, gathered ki, and shot the energy forward . The ball was wide enough to smack two demons off their feet, creating confusion among their ranks. The chanting stopped, and the rune faded away.

The girl began to panic. "There's still some left! Sagitta Magica, Series Septemdecim Aqua!" She held her staff forward, and a series of water arrows shot forward. Like missles the arrows split off, splashing the remaining demons with enough force to knock them unconscious.

Tatsuya smirked. "Nice shooting…eh…sorry, what's your name?"

"Oh! Sorry! My name is Megumi Natsume! Call me Nutmeg!"

Pochi gave her a nod. "Impressive attack, Nutmeg. You have any clue what's going on?"

As if on cue, a giant hologram appeared in the sky. It was of a blonde hair teenage girl wearing a rather elaborate white dress. And by "elaborate" this author means "damn, how is it possible for her boobs to hang out like that without anyone seeing her nipples?"

"Is everyone enjoying themselves?" the girl asked. "Excuse us for all the fuss! This is the Mahora Academy Events Executive Committee! Welcome to our Last-Day-Of-Summer-Vacation Surprise Event!"

If you think this author's going to recreate the entire Ayaka Yukihiro speech scene, then you're either insane or ignorant to how long this chapter already is. You should know how the scene goes (if you don't, I did warn you before about spoilers), so I should be allowed to skip.

"Oh I get it." Kaoru said. "A surprise event, huh? You got a real class act going here!"

"Hell yeah!" Tatsuya cheered, pumping his fist into the air. "Let's rock!"

"You guys really think this is just a game?" Kaoru and Tatsuya's faces lost their excitement as they saw Ranma's serious face.

"I'm sorry?" Kaoru asked confusedly.

Ranma looked around, as though he were assuring himself of something. "Too much mayhem. Too much destruction. Yeah, this is as much of a game as one of Principal Kuno's obstacle courses."

"Principal Kuno?"

"The principal of my school. He'd gather the school together for surprise obstacle courses to reach a pineapple. He'd force everybody to get haircuts if nobody finished. Then he'd rig the course with fake pineapple bombs and other traps to make sure no one passed."

Tatsuya's jaw nearly hit the ground. "That…that's horrible!"

Kaoru was also shocked, but managed to keep his composure. "So what are you trying to say? That all of this is real?"

Ranma shook his head. "I don't know. All I'm saying is that something's wrong with this. I've been in enough games, duels, and competitions to know that this is way too chaotic." Ranma bent down and began feeling the ground, moving his hand as though he were wiping the dirt away. "And then there was that energy before. I have no clue what that was, but no way was that ki. Nutmeg, didn't you say something about 'high ancient magic'?"

Nutmeg shook her head ferociously. "N-No I didn't! No way! Wh-Why would I say something like that?" She stopped shaking her head, but still trembled. _Did I really say that out loud?_ _Stupid!_

Pochi decided to chime in, and to Nutmeg's relief he ignored her outburst. "So now you're suggesting magic, Ranma-san? That's insane."

"Hey," Ranma retorted, "this attack is nowhere _close_ to being the craziest thing I've ever seen. Although I'll admit, the giant glowing tree and the floating castle are certainly out there."

"Speaking of giant trees," Kaoru replied, "we really should be heading for the World Tree now. They said these Martians are going after it, so that's where all the fun is gonna be. You guys with me?" The group all responded with nods.

"All right, guys! Let's get 'em!"

**X~~~X~~~X~~~X~~~X**

"FIST OF THE WHITE SWAN!"

Mousse leapt up to the demon's back and smacked it on the back of its neck. It fell forward and laid down unconscious.

He laughed triumphantly. "Ha! Shouldn't have exposed your back, you oversized freak!" He suddenly found his laughter shrinking as he saw the ground below him get covered in a shadow. Turning behind, he saw another demon standing behind him.

"Stupid Mousse no brag! HI-YAH!" Shampoo emerged, landing a flying kick on the side of the demon's head. It was sent several feet to the side, conscious but definitely dazed.

"Oh Shampoo! Thank you for saving me!" Mousse jumped in hopes of making a successful glomp on Shampoo, but instead received a punch to the face, breaking his glasses.

"You try too hard stupid." Shampoo got back to a ready stance as Mousse grabbed another pair of glasses from his robe. The demon from before was back on its feet, but it now had two companions with it. However, before they could do anything a green blur swept by, knocking each demon out with a single hit.

"Great-Grandmama!" Shampoo shouted as the blur disappeared, revealing Cologne on her staff. "Where you come from?"

"Oh, darling, I was doing some touring of my own before all this madness started." Cologne took a look around, her eyes peering at everything destroyed. "I'm afraid it is as I feared. Shampoo, Mousse, I'll need you to come with me. I need you two to do something."

"What do you need done?" Mousse asked.

"You will see. But you must promise not to question my orders. Understood?"

They hesitated for a second, but eventually nodded and ran off.

**X~~~X~~~X~~~X~~~X**

Keiichi slid under the demon's legs, striking both of its ankles with his feet. It stumbled slightly, allowing Keiichi to stand up, position himself at its side, and ram it with his knee. In a continuous twirling motion he made his way to its hunched back and jumped on top, only to drill his foot into the back of the demon's head. It fell over to the ground, allowing Keiichi to jump off.

As he caught his breath, he began to feel the adrenaline building inside him. _My 3-D Jutsu allows me to attack and defend from the air as though it were the ground. It's practically _made_ for big guys like this thing. It gave me enough openings for me to dance circles._ A smirk almost formed on his face, but disappeared when he saw that the demon was still conscious. Just as quick as the smirk vanish did it reappear as Pochi arrived, connecting his boot heel to the demon's jaw.

"Hey Keiichi-san, you're supposed to finish the opponent before you pose."

"Very funny, Pochi-san." A kind of crashing sound roared from the sky, turning the two's attention upwards. "Hmm? What was that?"

Several odd objects appeared in the sky, floating away from the giant structure. No less than a second later was a building crushed by a meteor-sized rock.

Nutmeg screamed. "N-n-now the sky's dropping rocks?"

Kaoru also panicked. "Hold it, this can't be right! Ain't people gonna die from this?"

"Welcome to my world!" With a confident smirk, Ranma jumped up into the air and crossed his arms. Shouting "MOKO TAKABISHA!", Ranma cupped his hands upward, shooting a ki blast that blew one of the rocks to pieces.

Tatsuya stared with awe. "Whoa, Ranma-kun, that's awesome! That's stronger than my Double Retsukusho! You gotta show me how to do that!"

"Later, Tatsuya! We gotta keep moving!" However, before he could take another step, Ranma noticed a small boulder, no doubt shrapnel from the giant rock, heading its way to the ground near him. Ranma cursed as he saw the rock's target: a nearby fire hydrant.

A stream of water shot outward like a bullet, knocking Ranma off his feet. He felt himself land on top of Tatsuya as the two were carried off the other side of the street. Kaoru, Nutmeg, Pochi, and Keiichi all heard the gushing water and ran to their friends' aid.

"Tatsuya! Ranma! You guys al-" Kaoru didn't finish his question as he looked at the two surprised. Similar expressions formed on the faces of his friends.

"Everything's good! Right, Ran…ma?" The delay in Tatsuya's question came from a quick realization that one of his hands had grabbed…_something_. He couldn't put it into words, but it was definitely round, definitely large, and definitely…pillowy? His curiosity turned to horror as he looked up to see eyes. A girl's eyes. An _angry_ girl's eyes.

"Hands of the boobs, jackass!" she shouted.

"WAAAHH!" Tatsuya leapt backwards, landing square on his ass. He pointed at her, his shock making his finger bounce wildly. "Wh-wh-who are you? Where's Ranma-kun?"

Keiichi, however, took a step forward while looking at the girl, specifically at her clothes. "Ranma?" His eyes widened when she responded with a casual nod.

"WHAT?" Tatsuya shouted. "Ranma's a tall black-haired _dude_! How could this red-haired chick be Ranma-kun?"

Keiichi stared at him. "Tatsuya-san, look at her clothes."

Tatsuya complied, and his eyebrow raised. "Those...those are the same clothes Ranma wore. But how?" He looked down, his mind reeling with possible explanations. "Maybe that's a different set? It's not too crazy for two people to have the same outfit, right?"

Keeichi was now glaring. "The sleeve."

"The what?" Tatsuya turned back to the girl, and saw it. "Oh _god_, what's all that black stuff?"

"Black stuff?" Kaoru repeated. "Let me see." Tatsuya moved out of the way as Kaoru examined it. "Yeah, I saw this before. Pretty sure it's blood. I saw one of those monster cough it up on..."

Kaoru could practically hear the switch click in his head.

"I-It coughed this up on Ranma's sleeve! This is the same stain! How did you get this?"

"If you give me a sec I'll show you," the girl said as she stood up. She turned around to see the lights in the building behind her. "Neat, a café. They'll definitely have some hot water."

She went inside, the other five following her sheepishly. She spotted a kettle sitting by itself on the counter. "Hm, not as hot as usual, but it'll still do." And then she did something unexpected; she lifted it above her head and poured the water on herself. The group gasped as the girl disappeared, instantly replaced with a familiar boy.

"Wh-wh-wh-what?" Tatsuya stammered. He slowly approached the boy, and put his hand on the boy's chest. "They're…they're gone! But that's impossible!"

"Ranma-kun?" Kaoru asked, receving another nod. "What…what just happened?"

Ranma smirked again. "It's a long story."

"Then make it short. What the _hell_ was that?"

"It was a Jusenkyo curse, alright?"

"A what?" Tatsuya asked.

"A Jusenkyo curse. Over a year ago me and my pop went to a ground of cursed springs in China. I fell in one of 'em. Cold water turns me into a girl, hot water into a boy. That's how the curse works."

"If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes I wouldn't have believed it." Pochi remarked.

"You weren't kidding when you said you had seen crazier stuff." Kaoru added. "Magic gender bender curse? Easily the craziest thing I've ever seen."

"So that leaves the next big question," Keiichi asked. "You were talking about how everything felt too 'real' outside a while ago, while mentioning something about magic. And you have your curse. So what does that make those things outside?"

"I dunno. I have no clue what's going on outside, but that shouldn't matter right now. They're causing damage, and as martial artists it's our duty to stop them. You guys with me?"

Receiving a couple of nods (and a fistpump and "Yeah!" from Tatsuya), Ranma led the group back to the street to continue their charge. He was pretty surprised to see the revelation of his curse go as smoothly as it did, but they did only ask for a quick explanation. They knew as well as he did about the destruction outside, and would've berated him if he did the whole story.

As he ran, he heard a voice barely reach him.

"Uh, Ranma-kun?"

"Yeah, Tatsuya?"

"About the whole, uh, boob thing, um, did that hurt at all?"

"Nah, it's happened before. It doesn't hurt, but it isn't comfortable."

"Oh. Sorry for that, man."

"Uh, it's no problem. Just focus and don't do that again, alright?"

"Got it, Ranma-kun."

Ranma continued running forward, but began to feel uneasy._ Is this what it feels like when someone apologizes to you? It feels all weird and stuff. Maybe I'm better off with people just punching me._

Meanwhile, Nutmeg stayed in the back of the group, keeping her eyes on Ranma. _So not only does he know magic, but he's also cursed? Really good I stayed quiet then; I would've been exposed for _sure_ if I tried to argue. Better deal with this quickly so I can alert Takane-sempai. I just hope things don't get worse._

**X~~~X~~~X~~~X~~~X**

"GYYAAH!"

Ryoga leapt forward, caving a demon's face in with his fist. As it stumbled backwards he delivered a side kick to its chest. It didn't launch forward as he expected, but it was pushed several feet back before it fell.

He began to look around, a panicked look in his eyes. "Akane! Akane! Where are you?" However, he couldn't find her amongst the chaos, and he found that his voice couldn't carry over the noise. His cries quickly shrank until he was silent.

As he moved forward, there was only one thing he could do: curse Ranma. _Damn him! First he leaves Akane by herself and then he just runs off! Now Akane's most likely in danger somewhere! If only I could tell where I was going!_

"GAAAAH!" he cried. "Could there _please_ be someone I know here?" He had lifted his head to shout to the heavens, but he now allowed it to sink to the ground. He sighed as a familiar sense of hopelessness waved through him.

As the smoke began to clear, he looked up to see a figure in the distance. He began to run towards it, seeing the figure split in two, one standing in a fighting stance, the other leaning on a wall. _Who is that, and why is it giving me a familiar feeling? W-Wait! Th-That hair! Could it be…yes! I've found you, Akane, all safe and sound! That must be Nabiki next to her!_ A tear of joy ran down his cheeks. _Finally I've managed to find someone! Don't worry, Akane, if Ranma won't protect you, then I will!_

And then the world went black.

**X~~~X~~~X~~~X~~~X**

"Is that a giant telescope?" Pochi asked as the group ran towards a large structure in the middle of the street. The group could easily see that it was, but they could also see a group of girls running around in circles while trying to avoid the demons.

"More civilians in danger, guys!" Kaoru shouted. "Tatsuya-kun, Nutmeg-chan, start us off. Everyone else, get ready to charge in."

Tatsuya nodded. "Got it, Kaoru-kun." He charged ki into both of his hands, cupping them together before stretching his arms forward. "DOUBLE RETSUKUSHO!"

Nutmeg held out her staff. "SAGITTA MAGICA, SERIES UNDETRIGINTA AQUA!"

A beam of ki and 29 water arrows shot forward, One demon took the full brunt of the Retsukusho, and was knocked out instantly, while the rest of the demons were dazed by the water arrow barrage. The demons could barely recover as the rest of the martial artists charged forward, fists and kicks flying away.

"Ranma! To the right!" Ranma turned, to see Keiichi charging towards a demon standing over a girl. The girl had short black hair and a Mahora schoolgirl uniform, but her most notable feature were her eyes, which glowed an unnatural green. Like waving lights her eyes moved back and forth, her mind in clear terror.

Keiichi distracted the demon with a swift kick to the ankle, following through with several punches to the gut. However, although the monster stumbled backwards it did not fall. The girl ran off as Ranma charged forward, landing a flying kick that caused the demon to stagger again. He quickly threw in a uppercut that sent the beast flying.

"GRAAAGH!" The brief sigh of relief ended as Ranma and Keiichi turned around, spotting a second demon that had managed to sneak up on them. They quickly got into their fighting stances, although Keiichi was still shaken.

"COLLATERAL SHOT!" A ball of energy was shot forth like a bullet, hitting the demon in the back of the head. It fell face-first to the pavement, revealing the same girl from before, now wielding what looked like a pistol.

"Wow!" The girl muttered, holding her gun up to her eyes. "No _wonder_ you martial artist types like shouting attack names and stuff! It feels so _cool!_" She noticed Ranma and Keiichi staring at her and waved. "Hey guys! Thanks for the save!"

"My thoughts exactly." Keiichi answered. "Who are you?"

"Who am _I?_" the girl repeated, an odd sense of joy in her voice.

And then _it_ happened.

**"Like the flower that blooms in destruction, I shall deal justice to the beasts that stray this land! For I am the President of the Mahora Academy Science Club, Ayame Burakuban!"** Insert a bunch of twists and turns before ending with the gun held over her head triumphantly.

Both fighters had gotten out of their stances, but their reactions were different. Ranma was visibly confused, with his head tilted and one of his eyebrows raised. Keiichi, however, was visibly _broken_, his eyes widening with astonishment and fear, and his posture frozen like ice.

"I see you have been left breathless by introduction. Is it any good?"

Ranma squeezed the bridge of his nose. "Oh yeah, um, sure. Pretty freaky, but I guess it's still good." Keiichi wouldn't answer, allowing Ranma to continue. "By the way, I'm Ranma, and he's Keiichi."

"Okay, what the _hell_ is going on here?" Kaoru shouted, arriving with the rest of the group. "I could've sworn I heard trumpets or something."

Ayame turned and pointed her gun at the group, causing them to jump. "I see there are more guests. Who might you be?"

"I'm Kaoru, he's Tatsuya, he's Pochi, and she's Nutmeg. Now who are you, what are you doing here, and could you please put the gun down?"

"Hmph, it's a shame you missed my introduction, because I only do it once. I'm Ayame, President of the Mahora Science Club. My lackeys and I have teamed up with our comrades in the Astronomy Club to prove a certain rumor."

"WE ARE NOT YOUR LACKEYS!" a female voice cried from the telescope.

Ayame chuckled. "Hehe, it'd be best to ignore them."

Kaoru was shaking his head, but he complied. "What rumor are we talking about?"

"The rumor of the Child Teacher, Negi Springfield."

Ranma perked his head up "Wait, is Negi here?"

"You know Negi?" Kaoru asked.

"Yeah. Showed up in my town a couple of weeks ago. You?"

"He was one of the contestants in the Tournament. Kicked my ass to get to the first round. He actually made it all the way to the final round before losing to his _dad_ of all guys."

"As I was _saying_," Ayame interrupted, "there are rumors going around saying that you can see the Child Teacher in the structure up there. The Astronomy Club lent us one of their telescopes, which we have modified. Not only have we boosted the magnification, but we've also installed a camera to get photographs."

"Cool," Kaoru muttered. "Can we see?"

"Sure. Should be done by now anyway."

The group approached a computer screen next to the telescope. One of the girls had her eye in the lens, and was trying to adjust it. The screen displayed what the scope saw, jittering with every movement like the screen of a shaky camera.

"Everything set yet?"

"Almost, Ayame-sempai. Calibration is complete. Scanning now."

As they watched the screen, Ayame felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned to see Tatsuya waving at her."

"What do you want?" she asked.

"I just wanted to ask about that gun you had."

"Hmm? Oh, you mean _this_ little baby." She shook her hand, which still held the gun at its grip. "This was one of the pistols the Committee was distributing. Pretty cool, huh?"

"I know _that_. But that bullet was _far_ stronger than anything I've seen from the other guns. How did you do that?"

"I have no clue what's in this thing, but it can be taken apart. Anything taken apart can be rebuilt, and anything that can be rebuilt can be modified. I was able to install an amplifier that allows it to fire a more powerful blast than a standard shot."

"DON'T TAKE ALL THE CREDIT YOU BITCH!" another voice cried.

"OI! SANAKO! SHUT IT!" Ayame took a breath to recompose herself. "Sorry for that. Anyway, the unfortunate downside is that it uses up about 3 or 4 regular shots for a single Collateral Shot."

"Yeah about that…seriously? Collateral Shot? Does that even _mean_ anything?"

"Hey, don't judge! I've heard you fighters shout goofier crap!"

"True, but the names aren't gibberish. Every part of a technique, including its very name, has a purpose to its use."

"Look, I just made something up that sounded kinda good, alright? And don't get all philosophical with this 'purpose' bull-"

"Hey Ayame-sempai! Target confirmed! Negi Springfield is now on screen!"

Ayame and Tasuya turned around, and joined their friends in staring in awe. On the screen were two boys gripping their hands together. One was clearly Negi Springfield, although he looked so radically different that it took a while for the group to recognize him. The other boy had an outfit similar to Negi's Chinese-esque garb, and had short bleach-white hair.

"Whoa," Kaoru muttered. "look how different Negi looks! Damn!"

Keiichi smirked. "Heh, I have no clue why Negi's suddenly gone for the 'Super Saiyan 3' look, but I'll admit…he definitely makes it look good."

Tatsuya turned to Ranma. "Negi looks like he's made of lightning right now! And he's glowing just as much! You recognize any of this?"

Ranma shook his head. "Nah, never seen anything like this before. But what about that other kid? Anybody recognize him?"

Tatsuya also shook his head. "Nope. But man, you can just feel the energy! Whatever's going on there, it's gotta be intense!"

"Oh sure," Pochi snarked. "Definitely the most ridiculously intense handshake contest I've ever seen."

"Hey," Ranma countered, "it's not all _that_ ridiculous. Maybe they're in…I don't know…a Martial Arts Handshaking match?"

"Martial…Arts…_Handshaking_," Pochi repeated, enunciating each word. "You _have_ realized by now that everything you've said sounds absolutely insane, right? Even the stuff that _was_ true?"

"Hey, when _you_ mastered the arts of Martial Arts Eating and Martial Arts Tea Ceremony, _then_ talk to me about crazy."

Tatsuya stared, his mouth dropping. Pochi hit his palm to his head. "O-Oh god. I can literally feel my brain cells popping."

"Hey guys! Check this out!" The three turned back to the screen. Negi and the other boy were staring at each other harder, the grip on each other's arms becoming tighter. In a single motion the two pulled back their other arms, each glowing with a different energy, and swung them at each other. The resulting clash created a white light that quickly blinded the screen. The group looked up at structure and saw the light growing and spreading like sunlight.

"I-It's too bright!" Tatsuya shouted. "I can't see!" He instinctively closed his eyes, and shielded them further by holding up his arms. Each member of the group found themselves doing the same thing as the light swept through them.

As quickly as the light came the light vanished. Confused, everyone opened their eyes slowly, some of them blinking wildly to remove the glare.

"Whoa, that was unreal!" Kaoru cried, a bit of ecstasy in his voice. "Any guesses as to what happened?"

"No clue," Ayame answered. She turned her attention back to the screen, and felt her eyes go wide. "_W-What?_ What's happened to Negi and the other kid?"

"I-I can't find them!" one of the girls shouted as she began to move the lens frantically. "It's like they've completely vanished!"

"Um, guys? They're not the only ones missing." Kaoru and Ayame turned to Tatsuya, who was looking around himself. He looked back at the two, his eyes containing a mix of confusion and panic.

"Where's Ranma?"

**X~~~X~~~X~~~X~~~X**

The bell rung as the door to the Cat Café opened.

"Hm? Oh. You're already back. Successful?"

Mousse panted, taking in a few breaths. "Yeah, we did it. Ranma, Ryoga, Akane, and Nabiki have all been returned to the Tendos. Nobody heard us, and they were still unconscious when we left."

"Excellent. Now it's best you two head up to bed. I can't have you two sleeping during work hours."

Mousse complied, and headed up the stairs. However, his companion hesitated.

"Great-grandmama, I still curious why we knock out Airen."

"Shampoo, I already told you not to ask questions. Now go to bed."

As Shampoo left, Cologne jumped on her staff and hopped outside. In the quiet of the night Cologne could look at the stars in peace.

_So is that what it's like? A battle of Western magic? I would have never anticipated such widescale destruction, but I suppose it is understandable, given its power. I have done my part, but I'm afraid that it's too little too late._

Cologne sighed. _It has been a long time since I've last seen you, old friend. I hope you are ready to see me again after so long, because if Ranma Saotome has become involved, then you will have no choice._

* * *

**Damn, I'm not trying to make these long waits a pattern. Honestly, I've had this chapter ready for several weeks, but have had to put off submitting it due to college stuff. I don't want to make promises, but I'll try to get the next chapter in sooner.**

**First battle scenes for this fic, and I gotta say, writing this stuff is tougher than it looks. You can't just say "Ranma punched X" or "Ranma kicked X" or "Ranma Hiryu Shoten Ha'd X" all the time, because it'd get boring even for me. I hope I'm doing the narration for the battle scenes correctly; going through each motion feels right to me, but it might not work for someone else. This chapter is also a first for me following events that occur in the Negima manga. Being the canon-obsessed man I am, I assure you that this won't be the last time.**

**Kaoru and Nutmeg are both notable enough characters in Negima that I don't need to give them introductions. For those who've forgotten Tatsuya, Pochi, and/or Keiichi, they're all minor characters who filled spots in the Mahora Tournament. I needed Kaoru in this chapter, and when I saw he was with these guys in the manga I knew I had to use them too. Ayame is my first OC (Original Character). Yes, she is a blatant reference, and yes, it's so blatant that I won't even say what it is.**

**Finally, I'd like to thank you guys for your continued support. As a still-novice writer it pumps me up to see feedback. I am really excited to work on the chapters to come!**


	5. Chapter 5

**COPYRIGHT LOLOLOL**

**What? I gotta fill this spot up _somehow_.**

* * *

_**Chapter 5: The Boomerang Effect**_

Thus was the end of the Second Mahora War. The people of Mahora were able to hold off the threat on the ground, but it was up within the Gravekeeper's Palace above that the battle came to its conclusion. Negi and the Ala Alba had left Mahora to search for his father in the Magic World, but they had returned as its heroes and saviors. As time passed by, Ala Alba felt something they hadn't felt in a long time: a sense of normalcy. And among those that embraced the status quo back the most were the two girls currently at the train station.

"Ah! Yuuna-chan! The door's closing!"

"Not if I've got anything to say about it!"

Meet Yuuna Akashi and Makie Sasaki, students of Mahora Academy Class 3-A. It is now almost a week since the beginning of the fall trimester, and the two are ready to enjoy the day. It only comes at the unfortunate price of being a disturbance to everyone.

"Oh no you don't! Stay open!" With an exaggerated swing Yuuna slammed her hand on the edge of the train door, forcing it to pop back open. In that brief moment Makie rushed in, with Yuuna just barely spinning inside before the doors closed. Grabbing their hands on the rail, they both tried to catch their breaths as the train began moving.

"Whew! _That_ was close!" Yuuna panted. "For a second, I thought we weren't gonna make it."

Makie tried her hardest to smile, but couldn't muster the energy. "Me…*_huff_*…neither. Why didn't we come sooner?"

"Hey, I just left my phone in my room! I didn't think we'd have to make a dash like that!" As she regained her focus, she began to notice her surroundings. "Aw great, everyone's staring at us. Sorry 'bout that, folks! Nothing to see here!"

A voice chimed in. "I don't know, I found that quite entertaining. I'd give it 8 outta 10." Yuuna looked towards the voice, and saw a girl sitting down. She could recognize that hair anywhere.

"Hey, Asakura-san!"

Makie also had her attention towards her. "Asakura-chan!"

Kazumi Asakura smiled. "Hey girls. Everything alright?"

Yuuna nodded. "Yeah, everything's fine." It was then that she noticed who Asakura was sitting next to. The hair, glasses, and posture gave it away instantly. "Hi Chisame-san."

"What do you want?" Chisame asked bluntly. Her head turned slightly to show that she was at least acknowledging Yuuna, but the glare on her glasses made it impossible to see her eyes.

"Oh, nothing. So, where you guys going?"

"Do I really need to answer?" Chisame's eyes were like needles, forcing Yuuna to take a step back.

Asakura intervened. "Relax, Hasegawa. No need to be so wound up." Chisame simply turned away, refusing to respond. Asakura continued, "I'm heading to Nerima, Got myself a pretty interesting lead."

Yuuna looked confused. "Nerima? Why would you go there?"

"Ooh, a new scoop?" Makie jumped between them, her face shining with joy. "Sounds exciting! What's the story?"

"Well, I'm not one to brag, but I suppose I could tell."

_That's a lie_, Yuuna thought.

Asakura began. "A friend of mine came back from visiting her relatives a couple of days ago. They had just moved into a house in Nerima, and she wanted to see the house. However, when she came back she just went on and on about all of this martial arts business going on. Literally every day someone was getting beat up. And she said every fight scene looked like it came straight out of a manga! People jumping all over the place, pulling off fancy fighting moves and sending debris all over the place. She even described some kind of energy source that sounded a lot like ki!"

Makie was in awe. "Wow! That's sounds cool!" Yuuna nodded in agreement, a smirk on her face.

Asakura continued. "When I heard all that, I just knew I had to get a closer look! I won't let a chance at a big scoop get away!"

"Jeez," Yuuna said, "you sure got something neat going on. Me and Makie were just gonna hang out at Harajuku for today."

"Oh? What about Ako or Akira?"

"They couldn't come. Sports related stuff. The last few days have been pretty boring. Me and Makie figured we might as well still do something."

"Well, hope you guys have fun." She turned her attention to Chisame "So what about you, huh? No need to be shy."

Chisame stared at Asakura, unfazed by the reporter's teasing. "If you really must know, I'm also heading to Harajuku."

"Really?" asked Yuuna. "Awesome! Just think about it! The three of us together, just like back in-"

"DON'T TALK TO ME ABOUT THAT!"

Yuuna reeled back. "Whoa! What's wrong?"

"Nothing!" Chisame turned back around, and nothing the girls could do could make her respond.

**X~~~X~~~X~~~X~~~X**

Chisame, Makie, and Yuuna all stared wide-eyed at the sign before them. On it was the following:

**ATTENTION**

**DUE TO RECENT EVENTS, THE YAMANOTE LINE WILL BE TEMPORARILY OUT OF SERVICE. JR EAST IS TRYING TO FIX THE PROBLEM AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. WE APOLOGIZE FOR THE INCONVENIENCE.**

**THANK YOU**

Chisame's eye began to twitch, and her hands, which had balled into fists, were shaking. _All I wanted to do see if there were any new styles out. Maybe see if I could use something for the site, and get it out of the rut it's been in. But _no_, apparently I'm not even allowed to do _that.

Meanwhile, Makie looked like she was about to burst into tears. "Aw, now what are we gonna do?"

Asakura shook her head. "Wow, that's a bummer for you guys. Hope you can find something else. Sorry, but I gotta get going."

"Wait!" Yuuna shouted. "Can Makie and I tag along? We've got nothing else better to do."

Makie nodded, catching on. "Yeah! What you're doing sounds like fun!"

Asakura scratched her chin and pondered. "I don't know, I usually don't let people tag along when I'm on a story."

"We promise not to get in the way! Please?" Makie looked up at Kazumi with the cutest puppy-dog eyes she could get, which glimmered with the few tears that had formed.

"Eh…oh alright. You girls can come."

"Yay!" Makie squealed, as the trio prepared to board the next train. However, before they could even take a step, a single voice rang out.

"WAIT!" Chisame cried, her voice ringing with frustration.

"Yeah? What is it?"

"I'm coming," Chisame barked, gritting her teeth tightly.

"Huh? But I thought-"

"Don't. Ask. _Got it?_"

And not one more word of it was spoken.

**X~~~X~~~X~~~X~~~X**

Police tape and police cars surrounded the rubble at what was once Harajuku Station. Controlling the area is a group of cops, a couple of them inspecting the debris while the rest drive away curious eyes. Yet one woman, with short black hair, dark shades, and a black coat, makes her way through the barricade unopposed.

One of the cops notices the woman and bows. "Good to see you, Detective."

"What do we have?" the woman orders.

"Definite signs of damage, but it actually isn't as bad as it looks. Most of the interior is secured; it's just hard to see through all this rubble here, which is actually the biggest concern right now."

"Sounds like he made the biggest mess just trying to get out. Any possible suspects?"

"We have had some eyewitness reports that match descriptions given in the other cases, but unfortunately we have no solid leads. We still can't identify what his motives are."

The woman went over to one of the nearby cars and pounded her fists on it. "Damn! This is the 3rd case this _week_! How the hell can I keep my reputation up if this punk keeps wrecking shit!"

She turned around, and with all of her fury she raised her fist in the air. "I swear, in the name of all that is just, that I, Detective Yuri Watanabe, will do everything in my power to catch this criminal, or die trying!"

The officer tapped her shoulder. "Uh, Detective, you _do_ realize people are watching, right?"

Around the corner, in a dumpster deep in an alley way, a small black piglet tries to keep itself silent.

**X~~~X~~~X~~~X~~~X**

"Thank you for shopping, ma'am."

Pushing her glasses back up, Chisame walked out of the store and stood right by the doors, giving the sunlight some time to shine on her face. Her once-fast walk had now slowed down, but there was still a feeling of tension in every step. As the white bag brushes her leg she looks towards all of the people moving about the bazaar-like street, each of them busy in their own little worlds.

_What's wrong with me?_ Chisame thought, as she looked at the bag's contents._ It's a city I haven't been to before, sure, but I'm still shopping alone. I would've done this in Harajuku. So why does it feel so odd? I've got the website updated (which unfortunately hasn't helped my ranking that much) and I no longer have to worry about the brat! That's how it's supposed to be! Why does _that_ feel weird?_

As she walked ahead she glanced at one of the vendors. Yuuna and Makie were nearby, talking with each other. Yuuna had a bottle of soda in her hand, while Makie was giggling hysterically, probably about some joke.

_Look at them, the same as ever._ As she thought, her eye began to slightly twitch, and her right hand began to squeeze on the bag handle._ We just got back from spending _months_ in the Magic World, even though I wouldn't be surprised if it actually took _years_. I'm struggling just trying to grasp the fact that everything's normal, yet the rest of the class just rebounds like it's nothing! How the hell does _that_ work? _I'm_ supposed to be the one grounded in reality, so why am _I_ taking the longest to recuperate? Could it be that I'm the only one capable to understanding all that was happening back then?_

Her train of thought suddenly came to a screeching halt as she noticed a bit of a flicker in front of her. Refocusing herself, she saw that Yuuna was now right next to her, waving her hand in front of her eyes.

"Hey, you okay?" Yuuna asked. "You've been staring into space for almost two minutes. It's creeping us out."

"I'm fine, Akashi."

"So then, whatcha thinking about?"

"Nothing concerning either of you."

"Well, can you at least tell me what's in the bag?"

"Again, nothing concerning you." Chisame reflexively tried to move the bag away, only for Makie to catch it and pull it away.

"Hey! Give that back, Sasaki!"

"Aw, but I wanna see what's in it!" Digging her hand in the bag, she pulled out a martial arts gi and a black belt. One of her eyebrows rose. "Uh, what's this stuff?"

Yuuna got a devious look on her face. "Ooh, what do we got here? You actually thinking about learning martial arts, or is that just for the pose shots?"

"Shut up! Sasaki-san, give it! NOW!" With a quick motion Chisame swiped her stuff back, shoving the gi and belt back into the bag forcefully.

The mischievous look on Yuuna's face now became more inquisitive. "That did look really nice. Lemme guess, that store over there?" She pointed at the costume shop down the road. "Not really doing anything for me, but I _am_ interested in that clothing store a couple shops down. C'mon, Makie-chan!"

While the two ran off to the store, Chisame stood there, shaking her head and sighing with relief.

**X~~~X~~~X~~~X~~~X**

Makie stood by the door of one of the changing rooms, listening in on the scuffle going on inside.

"Damn it!" Yuuna grunted. "Why don't any of these bras fit me?"

As she heard the sound of clothes thrown violently on the floor, Makie was trying to suppress a giggle. Finally controlling herself, she knocked lightly on the door.

"Hey Yuuna-chan, you need more time?"

"You think? Just go off and do something else, alright? I'll call you when I'm done."

With a nod and a skip, Makie made her way into the halls of the store. _Hm, there's nothing I really need in here. Still, it's nice to be with Yuuna-chan, even if she's having a bit of a freak-out. Might as well look around, see if there's anything pretty._

She passed by one of the aisles, only to stop and circle back. Down the aisle was an old man, crouched on the floor. He looked to be the size of an elementary school kid, and he wore some kind of purple uniform. She could've sworn she heard faint crying, which only grew louder as she approached the man.

"Um, excuse me?" Makie asked, trying to get his attention. He darted his eyes towards her, tears straining down his cheeks.

"*_sniff_* My apologies, miss. No need to mind me." The man's was choking on his own voice, and his sniffles only stopped when he brought a handkerchief up to his nose.

Now Makie was concerned. "What happened?"

"Oh, it's nothing. Y-y-yes…nothing…*_choke*…_nothing…AT ALLLL!" With those last words the man burst into a loud sob.

In a panic, Makie rushed up and embraced him. "Aw, no need to cry, mister!"

The man sniffled some more. "Th-thank you, miss. That's very…considerate of you to come to me like this. I-if you don't mind, I-I just need you to do me a favor."

"S-Sure! What do you need?"

"I just need you to stand up straight for a sec. Don't go anywhere, okay?"

"Okay!" Makie stood up, only for the man to do something unexpected: he jumped on her chest!

"Hm, I gotta say, dear, you definitely got more 'push' here then I thought!" the man said with a satisfied grin, as he gave Makie's bust a quick squeeze. "I was afraid you'd be completely flat!"

"GEEEHHH?" Makie shrieked, as she struggled to keep her balance. "Wh-wh-what are you doing?"

"Oh don't worry about it, missy! I just needed a bit of the ol' strength back! You did your part _very_ well! Now, I gotta say, that's a nice skirt ya got there! Mind if I take a look?"

Makie could feel a tear coming down her eye, and a scream coming through her throat.

**X~~~X~~~X~~~X~~~X**

"Hey, these actually feel kinda good!" Yuuna said to herself, as she was trying out the last bra in her pile. She tried a pose in front of the mirror as she pushed her breasts up. "Aw yeah, this set's a lot better than the last one! At least these actually fit me!"

It wasn't long before Yuuna had gotten back to her street clothes and had a pile of bras thrown into a bag. She began heading towards the register when she suddenly heard a wailing scream.

"GAAAAAAHHHH!"

Yuuna went into shock. _That sounded like Makie-chan! And it sounded like it came from right over there!_

She headed through the store before she let out a gasp. In front of her was Makie on the floor and shivering as though she just came out of a snowstorm.

"Whoa, Makie-chan, what the hell happened? You look like you've seen a ghost!"

"N-n-n-not a g-g-ghost!" Makie stammered. "I-i-it was an o-old man who just came along looking really sad only he didn't seem s-sad anymore and then he just started jumping a-a-all over me and I-I couldn't get him…"

"Hey, Makie, calm down a bit, alright? You're going too fast. You were saying something about an old man?"

"She must've been talking 'bout ME, of course!" Out of nowhere the old man returned, hanging on the side of Yuuna's boob like a life preserver.

"GAHH! Get the hell off me, ya perv!"

Yuuna tried to catch him with a swipe of her arm, but in an instant he had hurdled over it. He kicked off the hand, grappling Yuuna's other breast. Yuuna gritted her teeth in frustration as she tried to hit him, each attempted strike failing as the old lecher groped various areas of her body. Eventually she stopped to gasp for air as the man somersaulted to the floor.

"I'll…*_pant_*…I'll get you, you bastard!"

"HAHAHA! You're a hundred years too young to catch _me_, girl!"

As Yuuna tried to take a step forward, the man leaped into the clothes rack, disappearing from sight.

"W-where'd he go?" Makie cried.

"Don't worry. I'll get him, but I need you to cover me for a sec! I'm grabbing my artifact!"

"What? But aren't we supposed to keep that secret?"

Just then, the old man returned, a large sack now slung over his shoulder. Yuuna leapt forward for another strike, but the man jumped and springboarded over her head.

"I do _not_ care anymore! ADEAT!"

**X~~~X~~~X~~~X~~~X**

"Hey, Hasegawa-san! Everything alright?"

Chisame turned to see Kazumi coming behind her. "Yeah, everything's fine."

"Where'd Yuuna and Makie go?"

"They went in the store over there."

Asakura smirked. "So what, are you waiting for them?"

Chisame glared. "Why would I be waiting for _those_ two?"

"No need to be defensive about it. I was just-"

At that instant, Kazumi's train of thought stopped as a series of gunshots rang out. She and Chisame began staring at the clothes store, sure that the shots had just come from there.

"What the hell was that?" Asakura stammered. "Is it a robbery?"

Chisame shrugged. "I didn't see anyone suspicious go in."

Just as they approached the doors, an old man with a large bag hopped out, jumping in various directions as shots blew past him.

"WHAT A HAUL! WHAT A HAUL!" Happosai cackled, as he began running down the street. It was the next voice that caught Kazumi and Chisame's attention.

"Why can't you just stand still and get hit?"

The doors bursted open, and Yuuna flew out, brandishing one of her pistols. Makie emerged closely behind Yuuna, with her gymnastics ribbon in hand. The pervert ran down the street, not even acknowledging the girls as he danced around the bullets.

"Yuuna! What's wrong with you?" Yuuna's stopped firing as she felt Kazumi grab her arm and jerk it to the side. "I shouldn't have to tell you not to fire guns in public! Heck, you shouldn't even have that out!"

"I'm pissed, alright!" Yuuna barked. "And I'm not stopping until I get a hit on that old pervert!"

"Old pervert?" Chisame repeated. "What, that short guy?"

"Yeah, Chisame-chan! He groped me and Makie in the store! He! Must! PAY!"

Yuuna tried to dash for another charge, only for Chisame to pull her back from the collar. "First, I never gave you permission to call me Chisame-_chan_, so _don't_. Second, what you told me sounds like something right out a bad anime."

"I'm being serious right now, Chisame-chan!"

"I SAID DON'T CALL ME THAT!"

"Um…guys?" Makie whispered, her finger shaking as it pointed down the street. "H-H-He's coming back!"

Sure enough, the old lech was hopping his way right back to the girls, cackling his tiny head off.

"Alright!" Yuuna shouted, pointing her gun back down the road. "You girls better not miss it, 'cause I'm gonna put one right between his eyes!"

As Yuuna looked down her sights, she noticed something was off. The ground slightly trembled, and the sound of rolling thunder could be faintly heard in this distance.

Makie panicked. "Wh-what is that? Is it a stampede?"

Chisame glared at her. "What?"

"Doesn't it sound a lot like a stampede?"

"Makie, what could _possibly_ be stampeding?"

As if on cue, a giant blob appeared into view, following the lech. As it drew nearer, its details came further into view, and a noise that had once blended in with the rumbling had now emerged as a high-pitched scream.

Asakura stared. "…Is that a mob of pissed-off girls carrying brooms?"

Yuuna also stared, lowering her gun. "Y-Yeah. I think it is."

Chisame also (also) stared, her eyes filled more with disbelief than shock. "Okay, _seriously?_ What the _hell_ is going on?"

Makie was only staring because she had gone so into shock that she could barely move herself. She made a couple of noises with her mouth, but couldn't get any words out.

"OUTTA MY WAY, LADIES!" The old man had reached them, but before they could react, he hurdled over them. Chisame could feel her mouth slowly gaping as the elderly midget somehow managed to get several feet above her head.

"HAHAHAHA! What's the matter? Given up trying to catch-OOH!" His taunt was cut short as he was forced to spin around the ribbon that had whipped its way past him. "HEY! Watch where you're swingin' that thing!"

"Uh…uh…sorry?" Makie stammered. "Reflex?"

"Yeah? Well ju-AHH!" The man looked felt a quick poke at his hip. Looking down, he saw a dart hanging from his gi.

"HAH!" Yuuna triumphantly shouted. "Finally got ya, ya creep!"

"What's a little dart gonna…gonna…do?" As he flew through the air, he began to get a dizzy feeling in his head. He tried to shake it out, but it only made the delirium worse. Each hop was shorter and less controlled than the last, until Happosai was left lying on the ground.

Kazumi looked closer at the dart. "What is that? A tranquilizer?"

Yuuna nodded while twirling the gun on her finger. "Yeah. I have no idea how strong they are, but as long as _he_ doesn't wake up, we're good!"

The girls were nearly trampled as the mob swarmed its way around them. The group surrounded Happosai as the sound of screams was soon accompanied with the sounds of brooms flailing, wood breaking, and grumbled grunts of pain. Yuuna, Chisame, and Kazumi all stared as the rumble was engulfed in a cloud of dust.

Chisame's jaw nearly hit the floor, and her hand shook as she raised it to her face. "I…I…I have no idea what's going on. This is so stupidly insane I might just-" Her eyes turned left and glared. "Asakura, is this _really_ the time for pictures?"

"Hey, I'll take any story I can get!" She punctuated this with a click of her camera.

"GYAHH!" Happosai's body flung from the center of the mob and landed a couple of feet away from the Mahora girls. He tried to shake his head out of the daze, but his arms struggled to push himself up. The crowd opened itself up as a girl with short blue hair charged forward with a broom.

"LOOK OUT!" The girl swung the broom like a bat, sending the lech over Yuuna's head. Like a rocket he soared high into the stratosphere until he disappeared from view.

Chisame's eyes stared at the spot Happosai vanished from, which was now twinkling like a star. "Okay, _no_! _Nothing_ I've seen this summer will make me believe _that_ just happened! How the _hell_ is that even possible?"

The girl panted. "Thank you _so much_ for that! We've been trying to catch him for an hour now!"

"Ah, no problem." Yuuna replied. "That pervert deserved…_whatever_ it was you just did to him." She turned around, put her hands on her hips, and squinted her eyes as she looked at the remnants of the twinkle in the sky. "Seriously, that was _so cool_! How'd you do that?"

"What, hitting Grandfather Happosai? I didn't use any special techniques. I just hit him. Hopefully that keeps him gone for the rest of that day."

"Wait, 'the rest of the day'? You mean he comes _back_?"

"Unfortunately. By the way, my name is Akane. What's yours?"

"I'm Yuuna. Chisame's here on my right."

"Hi." Chisame deadpanned.

Makie jumped up at the chance of an introduction. "Hi! I'm Makie!"

Kazumi waved. "Kazumi Asakura, Mahora Class 3-A ace reporter."

"Oh, your name's Kasumi?" Akane asked.

"Nah, not Kasumi. Ka-_zu_-mi. But you could just call me Asakura. Everybody else does."

"Oh, okay." Akane got a good look at the whole group. "Asakura, you said you were from Mahora? Hmm, where have I heard that before?" She tapped her foot a bit as she concentrated, before snapping her fingers. "Ah! I remember! That boy Negi said he was from there!"

"Wait, you know Negi-sensei?" Yuuna and Makie both jumped towards Akane with excitement, while Chisame and Kazumi stayed back.

"Yeah, I remember him! He showed up about a month ago, asking a lot of questions…wait, you said Negi-_sensei_, right? He told me he was a teacher! You girls wouldn't happen to be his students, would you?"

Makie nodded. "That's right! Class 3-A Student #16 here!" She bent down in preparation for another jump, but before she could even stand back up a faint growl rumbled from her stomach. "Oh no, don't start growling now, stomach! I don't even know what I'm gonna eat!"

Yuuna sweated. "Hey Makie-chan, I think I saw a couple of restaurants back down the street. Wanna check 'em out?"

"Hey, wait a sec!" Akane shouted. "My sister should be finished with dinner soon. You guys want to come?"

Yuuna shook her hand. "Aw, Akane-chan, you don't really have to do that."

"But I insist! Consider it gratitude for helping get rid of Happosai. Besides, I'd like to know a little bit more about Negi, since he rushed out last time."

Asakura nodded. "Hm, I don't see any big problem about that. Free food, after all. Hasegawa-san, you mind?"

"I honestly don't care right now. If you girls want to go, then fine. I don't mind being alone."

Asakura wrapped her arm around Chisame's neck. "Oh c'mon, Hasegawa. Can't expect to be by yourself _all_ the time, right? After all, we _are_ friends now."

Chisame tried staring into Asakura's closed eyes, but gave up and sighed. "You're really going with that, aren't you? Fine, I'll come." A slight agitated grunt rang from Chisame's throat.

"If you guys are willing to go, then I'm willing too!" Yuuna swung her arm around Makie's. "Akane-chan, lead the way!"

**X~~~X~~~X~~~X~~~X**

Silence and serenity filled the air of the Tendo Dojo. In the backyard was Ranma, who was occupying his time with a kata. Every couple of seconds the silence was disturbed by the sound of air pressure blasting from Ranma's hands and feet.

_Today just had to be one of _those_ days_, Ranma thought as he threw another punch. _Shampoo and Mousse refusing to leave me alone, Kodachi ambushing me, my curse activating in front of Kuno _again_…I just can't catch a break sometimes. And then the old lech pops outta nowhere! If those girls hadn't trampled all over me I would've had my foot right up his-_

A slight rumble interrupted. Ranma stopped and grasped his stomach. _Well, at least there's _one_ good thing I can hope for today._

"I'm home! And I brought guests!"Ranma went inside to see Akane and her new troupe of friends turn the corner.

"Akane? Is that you?" Kasumi entered the room. "Ah, it is! Who are your friends?"

Akane pointed each of them out. "This is Yuuna, Makie, Chisame, and Asakura. I ran into them in town. They said they're Negi-kun's students."

"Negi-kun's students? How wonderful!" Her eyes sharpened at some realization, which made her turn and hurry back to the kitchen. "Oh my, I don't think I've made enough food for guests! Forgive me!"

"That's okay, Kasumi. I'm sure it's fine."

Ranma walked over to the group. "So you guys know the kid, huh? Been a long time since I last saw him. By the way, while we're doing intros, the name's Ranma Saotome."

"Nice to meet you, Ranm-" Yuuna was about to bow, but suddenly stopped herself halfway. Her body didn't move as her head slowly twitched it's way upwards. "W-wait, did y-you s-say…Saotome?"

"S-SAOTOME?" Makie shouted.

Kazumi and Chisame both stared silently at Ranma. He was taken aback, feeling their stares, but as he composed himself a slight chuckle escaped his lips.

"Hehehe…Hahaha!" Ranma bellowed, his head flinging upwards to the ceiling. "Well how about that, Akane? Looks like the Saotome name is finally spreadin' around! Soon everyone in Tokyo's gonna know just how awesome of a martial artist I am!"

Akane stared at him, her eyes burning with anger. "Well I hope that big ego of yours is satisfied!" She headed towards the stairs, stamping her feet.

"Wait, Akane-san!" Kazumi called, stopping Akane halfway up. "No need to run away! I have no clue what this egotist is talking about! None of us do! Right, girls?" The rest of the girls all gave short nods.

"Oh? Then how do you recognize Ranma?"

"We _don't_. It's the last name we know." As Akane slowly came back down the stairs, Kazumi turned her attention back to Ranma. "Say, Ranma-san, you wouldn't happen to know anybody named Haruna, do you?"

Ranma put his hands by his hips, tapping his foot as he tried to think. "No, can't say I have. Why?"

"One of our classmates is Haruna _Saotome_. Sure it ain't a sister or cousin or something?"

"He does kinda look like her." Makie added. "I mean, his hair's the same color."

"If it's family, then I have no clue. For most of my life the only family I had was Pops. Mom only showed up a couple of months ago. Didn't even think I _had_ any more family than that."

"Aw, that's so sad!" Makie cried. "How could you not know more of your own family?"

"Yeah," Yuuna added, "what could you've been possibly doing that it was only you and your dad for so long?"

"Ah, y'know, living on the road, training and sparring, standard martial arts stuff."

"Ooh, martial arts?" asked Asakura. "How _manly_."

"Yeah, it _better_ be." Ranma pointed at himself with his thumb. "Ya girls better stand back, 'cuz you're looking at the next heir to the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts!"

Akane, who had been glaring at Ranma since she last spoke, rubbed her head in pain. Meanwhile, Chisame, who had been leaning on the wall since she entered, was snickering.

"Heh, you've _got_ to be kidding me."

Ranma's felt his wave of confidence distort. "And what do _you_ think is so funny?"

"'Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts.'" Chisame repeated. "Really? You had to come up with such a _stupid_ name like that?"

"And what's so bad with the name?"

"Oh nothing, if you want the first message you send to be 'Watch out, I'm a cheap-ass who fights dirty.'"

"'Cheap-ass'?" Ranma walked up to Chisame, and noticed the bag. "Wait, is that a gi in there?"

"N-no! Don't touch it, dammit!"

Ranma quickly snatched the gi and pranced a few steps back, holding it open by the shoulders. Chisame hands were clenched into trembling fists, a vein pulsing from her forehead.

"You're ribbing on me, yet you've got a nice gi like this? Don't tell me that's a _challenge_ or something."

"No it is _not_! Just give it back already!"

"I heard 'cheap'. Someone called?" The group turned to see Nabiki, who was leaning from the door.

Akane waved. "Oh! Nabiki! What're you doing here?"

"Came down figuring dinner would be almost done, and what do I find but Akane bringing home a bunch of new friends. Nabiki Tendo, by the way." She looked at the whole group, pausing at Chisame. "My my, what do we have here?"

Chisame took a step back, her teeth still clenched. "And what do _you_ want?"

Nabiki looked closely at Chisame's face. Slowly she reached her hand by the side of Chisame's ear and plucked her glasses off.

"H-hey! Give those back!"

"Well, if it isn't the famous Chiu. Gotta say, the glasses really aren't your style."

Chisame's hands immediately stopped shaking, falling silently to her sides. Her teeth were no longer mashing against each other as her lower jaw dropped slightly. Her eyes, once burning with fury, were now wide with shock.

"W-w-what did you just say?"

Nabiki smirked mischievously. "Oh c'mon, were you really trying to keep a disguise or something? I'm not Lois Lane, girl. I can't be fooled with a silly pair of glasses."

Nabiki handed Chisame's glasses back and walked up to Ranma Seeing the gi, she grabbed it and inspected it.

"Yours?"

"Yeah, like you actually see me wear stuff like this. It's Chiu's over there."

"HEY!" Chisame shouted, stomping her foot. "You _don't_ have the right to call me that! _None_ of you do!"

"Ah, sorry, what was that, Chiu?" Ranma gave Chisame a cocky smile, making her growl.

"Would you stop it, Ranma?" Akane shouted, smacking him in the head. "Sorry, Chisame, he tends to be _extremely_ rude at times, though I can't help but ask, are you really famous?"

"You really don't know, Akane-san?" Asakura asked.

"Asakura, please, don't." At this point Chisame had given up at trying to be frustrated and had just resorted to moaning. Her body had begun to slouch, and though her glasses were still glaring it was clear that her eyes had glazed over.

"Sorry, Hasegawa, but I know you're never gonna answer, and Akane-san's awfully curious, so I'm gonna interject. Akane-san, what you're looking at here is Chiu-chan, #1 net idol of the web!"

"Net idol?" Ranma asked. "The hell is that?"

"Here, I'll show ya." Nabiki sat down at the table and opened her laptop up.

"W-wait, what the hell?" Chisame yelled. "Where did that computer come from?"

"So, Nabiki," Ranma began, ignoring Chisame's pleas, "what is this gonna cost me, exactly?"

"To see the frustration on _her_ face," Nabiki said, grinning at Chisame, "I'll do it for free. But just this one time."

Chisame sat down. "Y'know what, I'm not even mad anymore. I'm _beyond_ the capacity to be pissed off at this point. Go ahead, do whatever. I don't care."

"Um, Yuuna-chan?" Makie whispered. "Nabiki-san wasn't being serious about the 'free' thing, right? She wasn't going to actually make us pay money…right?"

Yuuna paused for a moment, and whispered back, "Makie-chan, with that kind of face, I honestly can't tell."

Makie gave the closest she could to whispering a small cry. "Good thing it's free, then. I don't have any money left."

"Alright, here it is." Nabiki said, turning the screen over to Ranma. "Chiu-chan's website. Go ahead and explore."

Ranma began clicking at a couple of links. It should once again be reiterated that Ranma is not in fact _completely_ oblivious to technology, but rather that he just never has much of a chance or need to use it. Case in point, he pretty much doesn't use computers _ever_, but he still knows enough about them to know how a mouse works. Even then common sense could at least tell him what it was for.

Granted, just because he knew what it was didn't mean he knew exactly what to do with that. Thankfully the Chiu-chan website has a rather basic layout, or they could've been there all day.

Ranma stared at each picture that he clicked on. "So, Chiu, you're in all of these costumes. What're you, posing?"

Chisame sighed. "_Yes_, yes I am. And _seriously_, _please_, _don't_ call me Chiu."

"So, basically that means you're a pervert."

And now the vein had practically popped.

"Okay, _what was that?_" Chisame growled. She stood up, a fraction of her original anger now surging back.

"Well, pretty much all of these costumes are really fancy-looking swimsuits and dresses, and you got a lot of people at the bottom saying how 'cute' you are. So, y'know, pervert."

Chisame slammed her hand on the table. "Hey, I am _not_ perverted! I do those pictures for my own personal benefit! If perverts want to come to my site, then fine! They're all customers to me!"

Ranma tilted his head. "But, giving something perverts just makes _you_ a pervert, right?"

Chisame's raised her fist up, prompting Asakura to quickly move and hold Chisame's arms back.

"Let me go, Asakura!"

"Can't do that, Hasegawa! Don't need you causing trouble!"

"Oh, I'm not doing anything! I'm just gonna give him his just desserts!"

"WAAAHH!" A crying sound came from outside of the room, stopping everyone in their tracks.

"Ah, sounds like Daddy's home," said Nabiki. "Wonder what's up this time."

"AKANE! A~KA~NE!" Soun Tendo, proud patriarch of the Tendo family, bolted into the room and knelt down in front of Akane, crying into her shirt.

"Ah! Dad? What's wrong? Why are you crying?"

"Growr?" The attention was now back at the door. A panda was standing by the frame, holding a piece of paper in its hand.

"Panda-chan!" Makie giddily cried.

"The hell's a freaking _panda_ doing here?" Yuuna shouted.

Neither Asakura nor Chisame was capable of making a sound.

"Hey, Pops, you're back. What's that?" Ranma walked over and grabbed the paper.

"Wait, _Pops_?" Yuuna asked.

"Yeah, hold on," He walked back over to the table. "Here, Akane, you read this."

Akane grabbed the paper and read.

_Dear Tendo and Saotome Families,_

_As of this date, it is of great honor for me to inform you that your children, Ranma Saotome and Akane Tendo, have been officially transferred from Furinkan High School to Mahora Academy._

_I understand that this transfer has come without notice, but due to recent circumstances it has been determined that such action was necessary. This transfer is meant to be temporary, and should Ranma and Akane wish to return to Furinkan they may do so at the beginning of the next school year._

_On September 9, 2003, Ranma and Akane will be expected to arrive at Mahora to receive their dorms. On September 10 they must arrive at my office before classes begin. Any questions that they may have can be addressed to me at that time._

_Best regards,_

_Konoemon Konoe_

_Mahora Academy Dean_

The room had gone completely silent, a lone cricket chirping in the distance.

"WHAT?"

* * *

**Well, great. I promise not to take as long, and then I go and take _longer_. Yeah, sorry about that folks. Had to put the fic on temporary hiatus. I could give a whole laundry list of excuses as to what happened, but that's not the point. Point is, I finally got another chapter up. And one good thing about the long time is I've had a lot of time to come up with new ideas, and let's just say I've got plenty of fuel for the creative juices. Hopefully I can actually put them to use.**

**You might notice some differences about the other chapters. I've re-uploaded Chapters 3 and 4 with minor tweaks. In Chapter 3, I applied the style changes I made in Chapter 4 and I removed Kazumi Asakura from the last scene. I initially wanted Kazumi to already have some idea about Ranma before she arrived at Nerima, but the more I thought about it the more I realized that this chapter would work a lot better if the meeting was by complete chance. In Chapter 4, I actually found where Mahora was supposed to be located, caved in, and updated it. I'll admit that part of it was so that I didn't have to worry about it anymore, but I also did it because I found that Harajuku, Nerima, and Kawagoe are all connected through Ikebukuro Station, the second-busiest train station in the world. I have no plans to use it as a locale, but I figured I'd leave the option open.**

**I had a bit of a mental debate over whether to use long vowels ("ou", "oo", "uu", etc.) or not, since I've been exposed to both through the Negima and Ranma scanlations. So, I figured I'd make a blend. For Negima characters, the long vowels will be used, and for Ranma characters they will not. The exception is any character with the "-taro" suffix in their name; they will be spelled without the "ou" regardless of origin (including Kotaro Inugami). This is partially to keep consistent with Pantyhose Taro, and partially out of personal experience/preference.**


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